


The Legend of Zelda: The Stargate Saga

by allen_bair



Category: Kingdom Hearts, Myst, Stargate Atlantis, The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Fantasy, Gen, Science Fiction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-04
Updated: 2018-10-06
Packaged: 2019-07-25 06:52:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 40
Words: 193,239
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16192361
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/allen_bair/pseuds/allen_bair
Summary: The Stargate Atlantis team is drawn into Hyrule's eternal conflict when Princess Zelda is mysteriously brought through the Stargate to Atlantis on Earth. In Hyrule, the Sage of Time is forced to locate a boy in Ordon Province earlier than she had expected. Follow the adventures of Link and Zelda across hundreds of years and several reincarnations as they fight alongside the Stargate Atlantis team to bring and maintain peace in Hyrule. This is a series of stories which spans several fandoms and generations from Hyrule's magical medieval period all the way into a more recognizable modern age and a civil war between Eastern and Western Hyrule.





	1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1 - Beginnings

 

Once upon a time…

 

The skinny elvish looking Hylian boy stood by the woman's bedside watching with increasing desperation as the village's healer, Ilio, went back and forth with multi-colored, foul smelling potions and cures. The boy had never seen the woman, Saria, like this before. She was always so full of life. He couldn't ever remember a day when she had taken ill before. And now this? Within a few days?

 

“Only Fairy's Tears can help this.” The healer had said with a resignation that the boy, being only ten years of age, missed.

 

“Fairy's Tears? Where do I get them?” Link had begged him anxiously.

 

The upper room of the treehouse where the woman and Link lived seemed to get darker and less inviting than it had been before Saria became ill. Outside, the sun was setting, but Link didn't want to leave his adopted mother's side to even light a candle for them to see properly.

 

Ilio sighed, and then went to light the candles himself so that he would at least have the light he needed to work by. He hated to dash the boy's hopes. He shouldn't have brought up the Fairy's Tears he now realized too late.

 

He turned back to the boy, ran his fingers affectionately through Link's reddish blond hair, and then reluctantly told him, “you don't, son. You have to be given them by a Great Fairy, and they don't give them to anyone except those whom they find worthy.” The healer hated to dash his hopes, but he couldn't lie to him either. “I'm sorry.”

 

Ilio looked into Link's eyes, expecting to see a loss of hope and despair. Much to his surprise, he found only a serious and calculating resoluteness. The boy's expression said he had been given a chance, however slim, and he was going to take it.

 

“Where do I find a Great Fairy? I can prove myself worthy.” Link spoke solemnly and seriously, as though he weren't just a boy, but a dedicated Hyrulian knight from the Hylian kingdom that extended their rule even as far south as the village's own province of Ordon.

 

“I've no doubt you can, Link. But the grottoes of the Great Fairies are hidden, and no one living knows where they are now. The last person, Ordonian or Hylian, to see and impress a Great Fairy was hundreds of years ago. It would take months, years perhaps to find one. I'm sorry, son. I should've been more clear. Saria won't last the night. You'd better say your good-byes now.”

 

The boy's hopes were dashed then and there. His mother, the only mother he'd known, was going to die from this strange wasting fever and he could do nothing but just watch it happen. Every instinct in his small but athletic body rebelled against the idea.

 

He looked down into the pale, elfish face of the thirty-something looking Ordonian woman and stroked her blond hair, tinged with green highlights.

 

“Link?” She had opened her eyes. Her skin was red with the fever and hot to the touch.

 

““Mother,” he had said, “I'm here, mother.” Link sponged some water onto her forehead and dripped some onto her lips.

 

“Link, I have to go now.” She told him.

 

“I don't want you to, mother.” He told her. “I don't want you to leave me.”

 

She looked at him with her violet eyes and said, “Oh my sweet, brave boy. It's time for me to go.”

 

“But why, mother? Why must you go now?” His own forest green eyes were tearing up.

 

“No one gets to choose when he or she must leave this life for the next, Link. The goddesses have chosen for me, and I must submit to their will. This is not evil, it is just life.” She told him. She had always been devout to the goddesses of Hyrule: Din, Nayru, and especially Farore.

 

“But what will I do without you?” Link asked her, the tears spilling from his eyes. “I'm scared. I don't know what to do.”

 

“Oh my dear, sweet boy, you have a destiny greater than me. I've known that ever since the goddess Farore placed you in my care. Look at the birthmark on your hand.” She told him.

 

Link took his glove off and looked at the mark on his left hand. His mother had always made him cover it up before. It was a faintly golden outline in the shape of three equilateral triangles, two at the base and one at the apex, set together to make one whole triangle. She didn't want him showing it to anyone who came from outside of the village. In the village, only a few people knew about it and kept it quiet.

 

“What does my birthmark have to do with anything?” He asked, confused.

 

“Everything.” She said solemnly. “You bear the mark of the gods, Link. You carry a special power within you given by the goddesses. When you need it, you will have the courage, the power, and the wisdom to do great things that no one else could dream of doing. Remember that, my sweet Link. You are special, and one day all of Hyrule will depend on you.”

 

She coughed once, then twice. Flecks of blood formed on her lips.

 

“I love you my Link, I will see you again. Walk with the gods...” And then the light left her own emerald eyes and she was gone.

 

The whole village had mourned her passing, even though, like Link, she had been a stranger of a different race when she had first come to live with them, her past as mysterious as Link’s own. Like the boy, she alone of all those in the village had the telltale high cheekbones, almost too perfect figure and long tapered ears of the elvish Hylian peoples far to to the north. She had been a mid-wife, a healer, and an herbalist in her own right, caring well for the Ordonian’s sick and injured, and had in time become dearly loved by all of them.

 

The funeral pyre in the village square had burned for hours as Link watched her body be consumed by the flames, releasing her spirit to continue its journey onward. Later, though he kept it to himself for fear no one would believe him, he would swear that he had seen a green wisp of smoke, rise from her body in the barely perceptible form of a woman, blow him a kiss, and then vanish.

 

“Good-bye mother.” He had said with tears in his eyes.

 

He took off his glove and touched the triangle mark on his hand. It made him feel better. It always made him feel braver.

 

And now he was alone. The other people in the village all gathered around him protectively. He had eaten supper at every dinner table in the village. He had been given offers to come live with almost every family. He appreciated every one of them, but he just couldn't do it. There was too much to understand. It was too soon. He needed to understand what her last words to him had meant.

 

* * *

 

The new sunlight outside poured through the open windows. The perfumed smell of the morning mist mingling with the herbs and grasses came wafting through. He sat on his bed looking around the simple tree house. that morning.

 

Saria had lived in it long before Link had come to her. It was special because it hadn't been built by cutting wood and hauling it up, but it had been grown from the tree itself by magic. Saria had never explained more than that. The walls, shelves lined with books, windows, and the door were all seamless with the living tree. So was the nook where she had laid him as a baby wrapped in blankets. A few pieces of furniture were places around the room. A table with a couple of chairs, two beds on opposite sides of the house, a big stuffed chair where Saria would read to him for hours. How he loved the stories of the knights of Hyrule long ago!

 

But the stories he loved the most were those about the Hero he had been named after. He was enraptured by these stories when he found out that he shared the same name as the Hero. These were the great legends of Hyrule. His mother said they were hidden legends that most people didn't know.

 

The Hero was born about every two or three hundred years or so. Sometimes it would be longer, sometimes the time would be shorter, but always when he was needed. When she would tell those stories he would imagine himself as the hero and his mind would fill with images of him slashing at monsters and riding from one end of Hyrule to the other. There were times he felt like he had actually been to those far off places and he could see them clearly in his mind's eye as though remembering them from yesterday. His mother had called the stories collectively the _Legend of Zelda_. Link thought it would have been better named after the Hero, rather than the princess who always needed saving, but she was insistent about it.

 

“The princess is the most important person of the story,” she would say.

 

“Why?” He asked. “The princess is always getting captured and the Hero does all the work rescuing her.”

 

“That's true,” she would giggle girlishly, “but there's a reason why the Demon King is always trying to capture her, and it's as old as the land of Hyrule itself.” And then Saria would frustrate him by never explaining more than that.

 

The house was quiet now. There would be no more stories from her. He could read the old books himself, but it wasn't the same. His mother's voice had given a life to them and had awakened things within him that just his reading alone couldn't.

 

There was always something different about his mother's voice, everyone said so. When she spoke, there was always a power behind it that no one could place, and no one could deny. When she spoke sweetly and kindly, you could get lost in her words. When she gave a command, you moved to obey before your mind had time to react. He knew of no other woman like her, and was sure he wouldn't again. Her favorite color was green, and even her blond hair seemed tinged slightly with emerald highlights when caught in the light. The house was too quiet, and too empty now without her.

 

The village goat-herder had offered him a job helping him tend the goats, and in exchange he was teaching Link to break and ride a chestnut, two year old mare with white markings that the goat-herder hadn't found a good use for otherwise yet. The mare had been given to the old goat-herder as payment for goats bought by a horse ranch farther north near Castle Town, but she proved too spirited for him or anyone else to handle until she met Link. She just took to the boy quickly, but refused to cooperate for anyone else.

 

Link had named her “Epona” after the Hero's mount, although, like himself, she was still pretty young. Though he knew it wasn't practical, there were times he continued to dream they would both grow up to have adventures together just like the Hero.

 

He got up from the bed and went to the cabinet to take out some cheese and a loaf of bread from last night's dinner with the mayor and his daughter. The Mayor's daughter, Ilia, was Link's age, and while they had always been friends she, more than anyone, seemed to understand what he had been going through with the loss of his mother. Her mother had died two years before from the fever as well. He set the cheese and bread on a wooden plate on the table under the window and sat down to eat, watching the birds and small animals scurry around down on the ground as they went about their business.

* * *

 

“Where am I?” This was the first thought that went through the lithe young elvish girl’s mind as she opened her royal blue eyes. The sounds of whispered voices speaking in strange, nonsensical, harsh sounding words echoed in her long, tapered Hylian ears

 

In her immediate view and over her head were strange luminescent strips of light set into a gray green metallic ceiling. They gave off a soft light, enough to see well by, but not enough to hurt one’s eyes should they look at them. She was certain she had never seen devices like them before anywhere, magical or otherwise. Still, in spite of this they felt vaguely familiar and gave her a sense of deja vu, like from a dream she had once upon a time, but could not remember the details of.

 

Not knowing where she was, or if anyone nearby might be friend or foe, she turned her head slowly and discreetly from one side to the other so as not to attract attention, moving her eyes more than her head itself. The room she was in was a large chamber with more metallic gray walls trimmed with rosewood paneled pillars at the corners. What looked like small windowed mirrors outlined in black were placed in different positions on the walls and on stands around the chamber. These glowed with words and squiggily colored lines. The words were written in a script which she could not identify from any of the known languages her royal tutors had been attempting to teach her. On metallic side tables against the wall, she could see small metal instruments wrapped in a transparent material, and small bottles with labels on storage shelves.

 

She tried to sit up and found herself sliding back to the strange, narrow white bed she had been laid on. Her knee length pink and silvery silken dress held no traction against the white sheets she was laying on, and neither did her matching leggings. A thin, possibly woolen, off white colored blanket covered her from the abdomen down.

 

Nearby, several Ordonian adults, distinguishable by their short, rounded ears, wearing long white coats with what looked like blue or green uniform shirts on underneath came rushing to her to help her gently lie back down. They were calling to each other pointing at her as they came, but she couldn't understand the words.

 

“Where… where am I?” She asked them, her voice more groggy than she actually felt.

 

One of the adults was a woman, clearly another Ordonian but one who had long, golden blond hair and high, Hylian like cheekbones like herself. She unsettled the girl, as though she was seeing a ghost. Looking at her reminded the girl of images of her queen mother that she had seen in paintings which hung in the royal residence of Hyrule Castle. She had never known her mother. Her late majesty had died giving birth to her. The Hylian girl shrunk back into the bed in alarm at this, and all the other strange adults around her inspecting the strange black mirrors, and crowding around the bed.

 

Seeing this, the woman standing over her sent the others away and, pulling a nearby metal stool closer to her bed, she sat down next to her and took the girl’s hand gently. She then began trying to speak to her more slowly in a calm, soothing tone of voice.

 

The girl looked at her with a blank, but studious stare, and eventually shook her head slowly trying to indicate that she didn’t understand a word that the woman who looked so much like her mother was saying.

 

The woman smiled a compassionate, almost maternal or sisterly compassionate smile. The next thing she did was point at herself with the index finger of her slender right hand and say, “Jennifer.”

 

She then pointed at the Hylian and spoke three unintelligible but distinct words more slowly.

 

 _She wants to know my name._ The girl realized.

 

Taking Jennifer’s cue, the girl pointed back at herself and said with her Castle Town Hylian accent, “Zelda.”

 

For a brief moment, Zelda thought should have said or added, “Princess Zelda of the Royal Family of Hyrule,” but looking at this woman and what surroundings she could see, Zelda doubted that it would be helpful to either of them. Everyone in Hyrule and its surrounding lands that she knew of spoke Hylian. Everyone that would know her name spoke Hylian. This woman clearly didn't.

 

She tried to experiment with communicating with this woman who was trying to be kind to her and prayed to the goddess that she would understand. She pointed to the woman and repeated her word, “Jennifer.”

 

The woman nodded her head in affirmation and said “uh-huh,” positively.

 

She then pointed at herself again and said, “Zelda.” She then pointed at the mark on her left hand, the seal of the Royal family and added “Princess Zelda” to see if there was any recognition in Jennifer’s eyes.

 

The woman seemed confused, but her eyes told Zelda that she understood that it meant something important somehow.

 

 _Good, she’_ _s_ _not_ _witless._ Zelda thought to herself.

 

The princess knew many people in her household staff who were dear to her, but were completely incapable of solving even the simplest problems. She had the sense this woman would not be one of them. She could work with that.

 

Zelda then swept her right hand in wide half circle around her to include the entire room, and then pointed straight at the floor, shrugged her shoulders and said slowly, enunciating every word, “Where am I?” Though now knowing that she wouldn’t comprehend the sounds, she hoped the woman would pick up on what she was trying to ask.

 

Jennifer’s eyes followed the motion of Zelda’s hand trying to understand what she was doing as the princess looked her in the eyes. It took a few seconds for Jennifer to realize what she meant, and then her eyes reflected her understanding.

 

She repeated Zelda’s sweeping gesture, ending with pointing at the floor and said, “Atlantis.” She then pointed straight down and said, “Earth.”

 

Again, that same feeling of familiarity and deja vu filled her at the first name the woman gave her. For some reason she knew this word, _Atlantis_ , and it awoke feelings of home and sadness within her that she couldn’t explain but were very real and powerful. A single tear formed in the corner of her left eye on the mere mention of the name of this place, but her ten year old mind could not explain to her why.

 

She knew the names of every land in their world. Her father had ensured that she had been schooled in the geography and politics of their world. But she was certain, in spite of the strange and sudden feelings they awoke, these were names she had never heard. They sounded as alien to her mother tongue, as the gibberish the woman spoke.

 

She looked at the woman carefully. She looked so Hylian, except for her rounded ears which marked her as one of the people of the southernmost province under Hyrule’s authority. She had only seen a few Ordonians in her lifetime, and those only visited Hyrule Castle on official business. Built very similarly to Hylians, in addition to their stunted ears Ordonians tended to be a little stockier and less physically refined than Hylians, but they were a good, hardworking people that had proven valuable assets to Hyrule’s kingdom time and again.

 

Zelda brought her hand to her own ears. They extended out from her head and ended in tapered points just as they had always done. She then, slowly reached out to touch Jennifer's ears which were exposed by her hair being pulled back into a pony-tail. The woman kindly let her, gibbering at her softly. She could feel no scars or obvious mutilations. These ears were natural. This woman was born this way. She then moved her eyes to some of the other people who were standing off in other parts of the room. They were of every color and size it seemed, although all looked basically Hylian except for their strange rounded ears.

 

Looking again at the chamber around her, the room she was in was copper and gray colored with several of the white beds like her own in a row and many of what looked like mechanical devices and the strange black mirrors and windows with bright colors and words positioned all over the room and mounted to the walls. She saw no one else that she recognized, and no one who was like her in the room, and she couldn't ask how she got here. Or could she?

 

Looking at Jennifer again, she saw a kindness and curiosity in her pale green eyes. There was no malice or malignant intent in them. Zelda felt that she could could be trusted. She _needed_ to trust her to learn more about where she was and how she arrived there. But how to ask?

 

She thought for a moment how to frame her question with gestures so that the woman would understand, but couldn't think of any way to do it. Without any common frame of reference, any kind of a real conversation was impossible.

 

Then the back of her right hand suddenly began to itch. At first, it was just a mild irritation, but it grew quickly into something she couldn’t ignore.

 

She looked at the triangle mark on the back of her bare hand. The golden outline of her birthmark was glowing with a luminescence she had rarely experienced before in her ten short years. The Triforce was the seal of the royal house, and that was all most people, common or noble alike, thought the mark meant, that she was born royal.

 

Zelda, however, had known how much more it meant. Somehow, she had always known, since before she could talk. She guarded a sacred, divine power that had been her constant companion and teacher all of her life. And at that moment, she knew it was prompting her to call on the Wisdom of her patron goddess, Nayru.

 

As she looked at the kindly woman in front of her, that Wisdom told her that she had the need now. She closed her eyes and touched the triangle on her left hand with her right and prayed to her goddess silently and within herself. As always before when she had reached out to Nayru, she felt a kind of maternal touch reach back lovingly from her deity to answer.

 

 _I need to know the speech of these people, great Nayru,_ she prayed, _grant me the knowledge and wisdom I seek._

 

The triangle glowed with a bright golden white energy under her touch and power flowed through her body and into her mind, unlocking and opening pathways she didn’t know existed before now.

 

“What was that?” The woman said in surprise, staring at the girl’s hand.

 

Zelda opened her eyes. She understood the words perfectly. She then tested her new language. “Can you understand me now?” The words were heavily accented from her own tongue, but intelligible she was certain.

 

“Yes!” Jennifer exclaimed in surprise. “How did you do that? What did you do?”

 

“It is an ancient magic of the Royal Family.” She told her matter of factly, then changed subjects quickly, adopting a tone more befitting her royal station. “I need to know how I arrived here. How far are we from Hyrule? What happened to my royal bodyguards? Why am I the only Hylian here?”

 

“I don't know.” Jennifer said taken aback with the new development and questions. “You came through the Stargate... um... the Ancestral Ring unconscious like you had been thrown. We still don't know how you made it through our iris shield.”

 

“What is an Ancestral Ring? A Stargate?” Zelda asked.

 

“Uh, _chappa’ai?_ ” Jennifer tried again.

 

Zelda shook her head, not recognizing the still foreign word.

 

“You don't know what a Stargate is?” Jennifer asked.

 

“No.” Zelda responded.

 

“So then you wouldn't know the gate address you came from then, I take it?” She then said.

 

Zelda shook her head again, “No. I don't know what that is.”

 

“Well, you're still not completely better. You hit your head on the floor pretty good when you came through. I still don't know why you were unconscious, and there's some other people who will want to talk to you, Zelda. So for right now, you're going to have to stay put in the medical center and get better.” Jennifer told her.

 

“Are you a healer?” Zelda asked.

 

She thought for a moment, and then nodded her head. “Yes, you could say that. Here I'm called a Doctor.” She said.

 

“Thank you for your kindness Doctor Jennifer. I'm certain I can well compensate you for your trouble once I am able to return home.” Zelda told her.

 

Jennifer smiled and said, “Let's worry about you getting better first, then we can talk about the bill.” She then added, “Are you hungry?”

 

Zelda thought for a minute, then said, “Yes.”

 

“I'll have a tray of food sent up. Once you're well rested, we talk more about where you're from and how to get you home, okay?” She said in a friendly way.

 

“Thank you, Doctor, I'm sure the food will be delightful.” Zelda said.

 

Jennifer smiled, and then left Zelda to her thoughts.

 


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 - Remembrances

 

Link sat with melancholy at the small wooden table, only large enough for two, grown out from the living tree of his and Saria’s treehouse. The sun had risen fully and was streaming bright sunlight through an open window nearby. A breakfast of cold pumpkin pastry which had sat wrapped in butcher’s paper on a brown ceramic plate, made for him the previous evening by the swordmaster’s wife, had all but been demolished by the boy. Crumbs and a few traces of crust were all that remained to convince anyone the pastry had ever existed. The core of an apple, and a small, empty bottle that had contained milk sat next to the plate on the table.

 

The wooden chair opposite his own across the table was empty, just as it had been for the past several days since Saria’s passing. The emptiness of the chair in front of him seemed to reverberate around the treehouse in such a way as to make the home he grew up in almost strange and foreign to him, as though somehow it could no longer be his home anymore, but it was all he had left. And it was all he had left of her.

 

“Link!” A familiar man’s voice called from outside the window nearby.

 

Link rose up from where he sat to confirm who the owner of the voice was who was calling him. Looking through the window, he saw Rusl, the village’s swordmaster and blacksmith marching quickly and with purpose towards his house. He wore his usual forest green tunic over a white pair of calf length breeches and hobnail sandals. A white headband was tied around his forehead, keeping his graying dark blond hair out of his eyes. His own well used, and well honed sword lay in its scabbard on his back.

 

The swordmaster was a tall, muscular man with a slight mustache and thin beard. He walked with a short walking stick that served at times as a crutch for the limp in his left leg. Link had asked him once how his leg was hurt, and the swordmaster had replied only that it was a long time ago during the border wars with the all-women Gerudo clans of the Lanayru desert. He usually wore a cheerful smile on his face when he came to see Link.

 

Link liked Rusl, and always had. It was Rusl who had the responsibility of teaching all the boys in the village how to handle a sword, and he always encouraged Link to push himself harder in what the swordmaster called his “natural talent” with a blade. Even though Rusl and his family were Ordonian like the rest of the village, under Saria’s watchful eye Rusl had taken Link under his wing as a father figure when Link was still very small, and he and Rusl's son Colin had grown up almost like brothers, though Link was several years older. Rusl's wife had been almost a second mother to him as well.

 

Link watched his surrogate father’s face as he walked quickly up the hill to the tree house. His usually confident smile was gone, and a look of concern and haste had replaced it.

 

 _Something’s not right_ , Link somehow knew instinctively as soon as he saw him.

 

“Link!” Rusl called out with both hands cupped around his mouth. “Link are you up yet!” He was insistent. “Link I need you to come down as soon as you can! Link!”

 

“I'm here, Rusl!” Link called down through the open window. “I just ate! I'm coming down!” He shouted back.

 

Link then came back from the window and hurried down the short stairs to the lower level of the house where his bed and clothes were kept. Going to his old, metal band and wood chest where he kept his few clothes, he rummaged through them and quickly drew out his forest green tunic, the one Saria preferred, and a pair of white woolen breeches. Throwing them on and tying a simple leather belt around his waste, he pulled on his calf high leather riding boots and rushed down one more level to the door of the tree house, and down the ladder to meet Rusl on the ground.

 

“Link,” Rusl began, breathing somewhat heavily, “I need you to come with me now to the mayor's house.”

 

“What's wrong?” Link asked. “Did I do something wrong?”

 

Link didn’t know why he had asked that question, he couldn’t think of what his offense might have been, but the mayor was the person who judged disputes in the village and meted out punishments. Usually when someone was called to the mayor’s house, it meant they did something they weren’t supposed to.

 

Rusl shook his head, “No, my boy. It’s not that. Someone has come to the village, someone very important. A Sage. She's asked specifically for you, Link.” Rusl told him.

 

Link expected his friend to break into his usual friendly smile, but Rusl’s face and tone of voice remained serious and stern. Even if Link wasn’t being summoned because he had done something wrong, Rusl’s manner did nothing to dispel the feeling that he was.

 

“A Sage? Why is she asking for me?” Link asked.

 

“She didn't say. But the Sages don't leave their temples lightly, son.” Rusl said, putting his free hand on Link’s shoulder. He then added, “My boy, if a sage has left her temple to come and see you, you don't keep her waiting.”

 

The swordmaster then put his whole arm around Link's shoulder and led him down the hill towards the rest of the village. Link looked reflexively back at his treehouse and had the sickly feeling that he would never see it again.

 

The walk back down the hill towards the village was quieter than the boy liked. Rusl would often speak with him, tell him of his own adventures when he was younger and a soldier in the Hylian army. He would talk of Castle Town, Eldin province, the Gorons and the Zora and all the wonders he had seen in his time away from Ordon. Link loved every minute of it. Rusl told no stories this time. No jokes or humor were to be found in his eyes. The look on his face remained grave and somber.

 

“What temple is this Sage from?” Link asked, not able to bear the silence anymore.

 

The Hylian boy knew of the Sages from the stories his mother had read to him. They were the mysterious spiritual guardians revered and respected by all of Hyrule. Each Sage was responsible for a certain individual aspect of the world like fire, or water, or the forest and could be called from any of Hyrule’s many races. He knew they remained in their temples scattered throughout Hyrule to guard their world’s Sacred Realm with their prayers and songs. Few living had ever seen a sage, even the Sage of Light who remained in the great Cathedral of Light in Castle Town had been seen only rarely outside of his temple. For that reason, many of the common people in the outlying provinces of Hyrule’s dominion, even in their small village, believed them to be myths made up by the royal family of the Hylian people.

 

“She is the Sage from the oldest of the temples deep in the Faron woods to the north of us; the Temple of Time. She hasn't left her temple in living memory, son.” Rusl responded gravely.

 

“But then how does she eat? Doesn't she get lonely?” Link asked those questions only a ten year old boy would dare to ask.

 

“The Sages aren't like you and I, Link. No one knows or understands the Sages but the Sages themselves.” The sword master answered him mysteriously. A tinge of fear and reverence laced the old warrior’s voice as he spoke briefly of them and quickly became silent again.

 

Then Rusl said nothing more as they entered the village.

 

Their village was a collection of red tiled roof, rounded wooden houses connected by dirt paths gathered together on the north side of a naturally walled valley. A large stream meandered its winding way around the houses and under small bridges to empty into a large pond glistening in the morning light on the south side of the valley. Rusl kept his arm around the boy’s shoulders protectively as he guided him along those familiar, well trodden dirt paths.

 

After what felt like the longest walk Link had ever taken, the two came up to the wooden door of the Mayor's house. Rusl didn't bother knocking but opened the large round door and led Link inside to a dimly lit large sitting room. Well used cushioned couches and chairs, enough for ten or fifteen people were arranged around a short table, and here Link remembered again that much of the village’s legal business, both internal and when dealing with other villages and royal representatives was done here in this room.

 

Sitting on two of those chairs in the main room were the Mayor’s large, muscular wrestler’s frame and the smaller, more bookish man, the healer Ilio who had tended to Link’s mother. These two men sat with obvious, though respectful discomfort opposite an old woman that Link had never seen before. They had all been silent, their expressions grave when he and Rusl had entered. With the addition of Rusl, the swordmaster, they made up the three most important leaders in the village.

 

Adding to the boy’s sense of foreboding, Link couldn’t see any trace of Ilia, the mayor’s daughter. She was the same age as Link, and they had been close friends since they were both very young. Her presence would have been at least some comfort to him as he was made to stand next to Rusl across from where the Mayor sat.

 

There was something vaguely familiar to him as he came to look at her. He couldn’t explain quite why, but he felt as though he _knew_ her as from a dream or… or… He couldn’t place it. She was hunched over under a red cloak which covered most of her body and hid most of her deeply tanned, wizened face, creased with her extreme age, in it's folds. The distinct traces of the long tapered ears of the Hylian race could be seen against the material of her robe’s cowl. A long silver-gray braid of hair spilled out from the cowl to flow down and end in a tightly wound spiral across the front of her crimson robes which were emblazoned with the violet insignia of an open eye shedding a single tear. Under the robes could be seen deep, midnight colored garments trimmed with golden runes and patterns.

 

 _She must be hundreds of years old_. Link thought upon first seeing her. He had never seen anyone as ancient as she appeared.

 

And then from the recesses of his mind, a thought pushed its way to the surface of his conscious mind, _Thousands, not hundreds._

 

The elder Sage before him sat unmoving like stone in the worn leather cushioned chair, her arms extended in a relaxed manner across its arms. For just a brief moment, Link imagined she might have expired in the time it took to fetch him.

 

The mayor and the healer looked as if they didn't know what to say or how to even speak in her presence. As Link stood next to Rusl, the mayor’s eyes went to the boy as though pleading for help in how to proceed without offending the ancient one.

 

“Is this the boy, swordmaster?” She then broke the silence, her head moving under the crimson cowl to address Rusl, her voice heavy with age and gravelly. There were no courtesies, no pleasantries, and no smiles.

 

“Yes.” Rusl answered stiffly, but respectfully. “This is Link.” Rusl then added, “His mother just passed away, your grace.” His tone of voice was hopeful that this might engender some compassion towards the boy to mitigate whatever designs the mysterious woman might have on him.

 

“Stand in front of me, boy.” She told him. If Rusl had hoped for a trace of warmth or sympathy from her, he was disappointed, for there was none in her voice.

 

Link moved to stand directly in front of her without a will of his own, looking up at Rusl for help. But Rusl had no help to give him. No one except perhaps the royal family held any power over the Sages of Hyrule. He was made to stand opposite her, and his young eyes were able to see more of her face beyond the shadows of her cowl. Her eyes were a sharp golden color, intelligent, and keen. The cheekbones of her ancient face were high, just like his, and he knew then for certain that they were of the same race.

 

“Let me see your hand, boy.” She told him brusquely.

 

He lifted his right hand and showed its palm to her in technical obedience. But from deep within, a voice told him, _You know which hand she wants to see._

 

She batted the wrong hand away and said, “Don't try my patience. Show me your left hand, boy.”

 

Link then brought up his left hand which still wore the glove his mother had insisted upon to hide his birthmark.

 

“Remove the glove.” She said, neither impressed nor fooled by it.

 

He obeyed hesitantly, and gave her his hand again. She studied it carefully.

 

“How old are you, boy?” She asked him.

 

“Ten, ma'am.” He responded.

 

Under her cowl, he saw her lift an eyebrow at him, “Ma'am?” She asked. “Are you still so impertinent, boy?”

 

“The proper address for a Sage is 'your grace,' Link.” The mayor said.

 

“I'm sorry,” Link said nervously. “Ten, your grace.”

 

“Ten. So young. I had hoped he would be older by now. But the Princess is ten now too, isn't she? Yes, they're always the same age, but there's nothing to do about it this time.” The sage spoke more to herself than to anyone else.

 

 _What does the princess have to do with me?_ Link asked himself, but something within him made him keep his question to himself.

 

“You will need your horse boy. We have a journey to make.” The Sage told Link.

 

Link’s eyes flew first to Rusl and then to the Mayor pleading for help, not knowing what to do.

 

Rusl then stepped forward, placing his hand once again protectively on Link’s shoulder and asked, “Where are you taking him, your grace, and when will he return?”

 

The Sage raised both her eyebrows and looked up into his eyes, her cowl falling back from her head just a bit so that her eyes met Rusl’s own, “I am not used to being questioned, swordmaster.” She told him coldly, her face set like stone.

 

Rusl started to take a step back, an expression of fear flashing across his features, but then steadied himself and held his ground. His grip tightened on the Hylian boy’s shoulder while his other hand balled tightly into a fist. The Ordonian man summoned up his courage, and stared her down.

 

“Link is like my own. I want to know where the boy is going, and when he will return, your grace.” He demanded.

 

The Sage held his gaze like stone for several minutes as they challenged one another silently like two combatants on the field of battle.

 

Then, her own expression softened.

 

“I like you, swordmaster,” she said, allowing a smile to cross her lips. “You remind me of someone I knew a long time ago.”

 

Rusl softened his own gaze as well, and then said, “Please, your grace. This boy is from our village. We all feel responsible for him.”

 

She looked from the sword master to the faces of the mayor and the healer and could read in their eyes the truth of what he said. She let out a long low sigh, and for a moment every year she had lived could be read in her face, and the count was considerable.

 

“I have no answers to your questions, I'm sorry.” She told them. “And I can’t give you what I do not myself possess. If I could say the boy would be safely returned to you I would do so. But his fate does not lie in my hands, but in the hands of those far more powerful and ancient than I.”

 

She looked at Link tenderly now, almost grandmotherly. The change in her expression was so drastic that he wondered for just a brief moment if it was even the same woman. A recognition of her features struggled to break free within him, but he couldn’t quite bring it to the surface.

 

“I had hoped you would be older by this point, but time is now against the both of us. Once, we would have had all the time we needed, but this… things are different. The cycle has been interrupted. Someone has interfered with the legend in a way that threatens everything and everyone.” She looked straight into his eyes as she said this last part.

 

 _The legend?_ Link’s mind then began to spin at high speed and react in ways that it never had before.

 

“What cycle, your grace? What legend?” The mayor asked.

 

“The boy knows,” she said, “don't you boy?” She looked in his eyes.

 

He _did_ know, from the stories his mother had read him, and… There was something else racing through his mind as though testing the walls of a prison, trying to break free.

 

The boy then nodded, but even that slight motion began to make his head throb, and his hands went to his head to try and cradle it and stop the pressure. “The legend of Zelda.” The boy responded in a whisper. “Like from my mother’s book.”

 

“What's the legend of Zelda?” The Mayor responded in confusion. When the old woman wouldn’t answer, he turned to Rusl with his question. “What does her highness, the Princess have to do with this?” Rusl shook his head in reply, not knowing the answer himseld.

 

“I don’t understand what this is about.” The big man continued in helpless frustration.

 

“You know now why I've come, don't you, boy?” She asked, ignoring the other men in the room now. “You're the Link.”

 

Link stepped back from the Sage trying to take this in. His mind felt as though it were on fire as images and feelings just out of reach raced across it like… He knew the stories. He knew what the Link in those stories did. Terror and excitement seized him.

 

He touched his finger to the triangle on his hand to make himself feel better, braver. It always seemed to work before like that. He began to feel dizzy, and pain gripped the deep inside of his head.

 

As he did he mouthed silently a prayer, not to Farore to whom his mother had taught him to pray, but to his mother hoping that she could hear him somewhere, “Mother, help me.”

 

The triangle on his hand then burst out with an energetic bright white golden light, and a new courage seized him and wouldn’t let go. Within his mind it was like a dam had ruptured and memories flooded into his consciousness which he could never have lived in his ten few years. He had seen Castle Town. Not once, but many many times. He had ridden the wind on the back of a great bird, and run through the twilight on four paws. He knew the darkness of the shadow temple, and the wonders of Skyloft, the ancient city in the sky which now only existed in legends and whispers. He knew love, and loss. It all deluged him hard and fast in a blur of images and feelings that he tried to make sense of. There were hundreds of lifetimes of memories that tried to integrate into the person he believed himself to be, and all of them were from a person, a personality known only as “Link.”

 

“Yes, boy. You do know.” The Sage of Time said with a knowing look. “I can see it in your eyes. You remember.”

 

Link nodded slowly as the pressure began to subside. He tried to sort out his memories, but they were all beginning to fuse together. He was all of those heroes who had come before him, and yet he was still just the boy from the village.

 

Nodding in satisfaction, the old woman then turned her attention back to the other men in the room.

 

“He will need a sword and a shield,” the Sage said, looking at Rusl, “a real sword and shield. Not those wooden sticks you have the children practice with.”

 

Rusl began to protest that he was too young, and then, reflexively, he looked at Link's face and into the boy’s eyes. The swordmaster then stepped back from Link, loosing his grip on the boy’s shoulder.

 

What he saw in the ten year old’s eyes unnerved him. The boy he knew and loved was still in there, present somewhere, but now there was something, _someone_ more.

 

The expression Link carried was no longer that of the scared ten year old boy he had led there. This person’s eyes were hardened and haunted as though he had seen things that would give most men nightmares. There was something feral yet dutiful about it. It was the expression he saw on the faces of his fellow soldiers many years before during the border wars, veteran soldiers, when they came back from combat against bokoblin raiders or Gerudo thieves, if they came back at all.

 

Rusl wanted to weep for what he saw now in the eyes of this boy he had helped to raise. This boy that now stood in front of him could split a man in two without hesitation if the need arose, and looked like he knew how it felt to do so.

 

“Alright.” Rusl said, chilled by the change he saw come over the boy.

 

“Fetch the boy's pony.” The Sage then ordered.

 

“Epona doesn't belong to me,” Link told her, his voice somewhat raspy. “She belongs to the goat-herd.”

 

Without a word, the Sage drew a larch leather pouch out from the folds of her robe and tossed it to the mayor. When he opened it, he found it was filled with precisely cut white, orange, and violet gemstones. They were known as _rupees_ , the common currency of the kingdom of Hyrule, and there was enough there to buy the entire village and still live comfortably for several years.

 

“Give this to the goat-herd as compensation for the horse. The boy must have her.” The Sage said with a dismissive wave of her hand.

 

The mayor nodded quickly. He had never seen so much money in his life.

 

“Now, let go collect the boy’s horse and anything else he might need,” she said, eyeing Rusl, “we have a long journey ahead of us and I don't know how safe the woods are anymore.”

 

Rusl nodded wordlessly as he came to accept the loss of any power he had in protecting and nurturing the boy. The boy’s fate had been decided by the divine and now the divine had come to claim him for their own purposes. Within himself he submitted to their will, and let the boy go, grieving silently within himself.

 

She then stood up from her chair. Her frame was bent over, but Link could tell that at one time she had been a tall, powerfully built woman. When she moved, in spite of her age, her limbs moved with a fighter’s grace and natural stance.

 

The recognition then came freely to his mind as he imagined the younger, tall and strong, deeply tanned warrior woman with silver hair and golden eyes his memories told him he had known. Fierce, mysterious, and absolutely dedicated to her Lady goddess, she had been one of the last of her tribe of shadow warriors once upon a time.

 

“I know you.” Link told her as his memories began to settle down and congeal.

 

He was certain he recognized her now. The memory came back to him.

 

“Yes.” She said as she took his arm and, ignoring the others in the room, they walked through the door of the Mayor’s house to the outside. From their, Link was made to lead her up towards the ranch where the pony was kept. “That was many years, many lifetimes ago.”

 

“Impa.” He said.

 

She looked at him and nodded.

 

He tried to put the pieces together in his mind as many ancient memories fell into place. But there was one memory which was distinctly absent. He had no memory of Impa or any Sage ever coming to seek him out before. He was always raised as an unknown commoner far away from his people and the royal family that guarded the legend.

 

“How did you find me?” He asked Impa.

 

“I had help from an old friend.” She replied, but did not elaborate.

 

“It's worse than before, isn't it?” He asked, realizing what it meant. “That’s why you came to find me this time instead of letting things take their course.

 

He didn't know what could be worse than the things his mind told him he had experienced lifetimes ago, but he knew that had to be be. That was the only possible explanation for her to risk leaving the unique environment of her temple this far away from it; that is, at her extreme age, for her to risk her very life.

 

She didn't answer. She didn't need to. If Impa had left her place at the temple, then he had his answer.

 

* * *

 

“So, young lady, I understand you're feeling better.” It wasn't a question that the balding man with spectacles uttered with a smile that though meant as friendly appeared forced, Zelda could tell.

 

Her father had ensured that her tutors were educating her in the arts of diplomacy and conversation for her future role as monarch of her people. Those lessons told her this man was highly skilled in those arts too.

 

She sat in a semi-comfortable black padded, wireframe metal chair in front of a large desk which appeared to have a polished wooden top laid over a metal frame. Behind the desk sat the man whom she had been brought to see in a high backed tan leather chair which somewhat resembled a kind of small, comfortable throne, if, that is, a throne could be on rollers and recline somewhat. Next to her sat Doctor Jennifer, the woman who had been kind to her, and who still hauntingly reminded her of her own mother.

They were all seated in an enclosed office at the apex of the tallest tower, the central tower of the city itself. To the right of her, several giant bay windows opened up to an even more expansive chamber that was nearly as large as the great hall of Hyrule Castle itself. What glances she caught of that chamber through the windows were of stained glass and a great metal ring which brought up even more feelings and random images in her mind, though she had little idea where they came from.

 

After being permitted to leave the place Jennifer called their medical center the day before, Zelda had been allowed over the last day or so to stretch her legs and be taken to a private apartment within the city close to the medical center. She had always remained the watchful eye of either Doctor Jennifer or one of the doctor's companions, but they had not been unkind or impolite.

 

In the apartment was a glass and metal door that opened up onto a small balcony or terrace. She had gone through the door and out on the terrace to see the ocean view. The ocean had always been something that she loved, even though her home in Castle Town was so far from it. But as she breathed in the salty air on that terrace, and felt the bright warm tropical sunlight on her skin, looking out over the towers and expanse of the floating city powerful emotions started to seize her.

 

That was when tears began to roll down her cheeks with a will of their own as feelings and images without context and without reason came unbidden to her conscious mind. They were feelings of home, of longing desperately for this place that she thought she had never seen before, and of loss that she couldn’t explain.

 

She had quickly tried to contain them and regain her composure at her inexplicable reaction. Within herself she tried desperately to make sense of it, but couldn’t. It felt like she knew this alien city from deep within her subconscious, but she couldn’t bring those memories to bear.

 

Now, this man, a Mister Woolsey, whom Doctor Jennifer told her governed this city wanted to speak with her in his office. The kind woman stayed with her as she was led up the tower to this office.

 

Mister Woolsey didn’t appear to be a particularly tall man. He had more the build of a scholar or a politician than a warrior. He wore the same grey uniform Doctor Jennifer did, though his appeared to have red highlights while hers had green. His face told her he could be cunning and devious when it suited his agenda. She had seen and known men like him in her father's court. She liked none of them.

 

But the difference between this man and those others as she quickly studied him, is that, unlike those courtiers, she also sensed he would try to do what he thought was the right thing, and not just what suited his own ambitions. That was good. That was useful. She might be able to trust that.

 

He was also trying to be polite and friendly when, as governor, he was under no obligation to appear so. She noted that he was also awkward in his attempt. It wasn't his strongest quality. This was a man more comfortable negotiating with no pretenses to courtesy; who could always find a way to strike a favorable deal. This would also be useful to her she decided as she continued her appraisal.

 

“Yes, thank you.” She responded politely and with appropriate grace. “Doctor Jennifer’s care of my person has been exceptional.”

 

He paused for a moment at the courteous and somewhat overly mature answer, and then responded as he sat back in his chair, “Yes, I’m sure it has.”

His own eyes suddenly sharpened as she saw he began to reappraise her as well. His expression then began to drop some of it’s artificial nicety and took on a more businesslike appearance.

 

“I'd like to know more about where you are from and how you came to us. To say the least it was very unusual.” Mr. Woolsey then told her, coming directly to the point. His tone remained both polite and non aggressive, but it told her he had quickly realized she was not his inferior in any way.

 

She considered his question carefully, and then decided it would only be an obstacle to keep things from him at this point. She needed information as much as he did, possibly more than he did.

 

“The last thing I remember was traveling with my retinue on an official visit to the Goron village in Eldin Province. We were still within Hyrule field. My retinue consisted of twenty knights and five courtiers. The Gorons are friendly to us, and there haven't been any bokoblin incursions for a hundred years. There was no reason to suspect we would be attacked. I grew drowsy in my carriage. The next thing I remember is waking up in your medical center with Doctor Jennifer.” Zelda reported to him.

 

“I see.” Mr. Woolsey said, a trace of skepticism edging his voice, but absorbing the information nonetheless. “Do you know what planet you are from, what your people call their world?”

 

“Our land has been called Hyrule since the beginning of our history. I don't know what you mean by 'planet'.”

 

“So, you've never been anywhere else but Hyrule then? No other 'lands'?” He asked.

 

“Just a few of our outer provinces as my royal duties have demanded, and the coastline near Mido Town where my father would bring me on holiday. My father has restricted my official visits to regions where we maintain jurisdiction until I fully come of age.” She answered.

 

Again, Mister Woolsey appeared to absorb this information in a calculating manner, his face becoming otherwise dispassionate.

 

He started another line of questioning, “Er, Doctor Jennifer tells me you say you are a Princess.”

 

“I am.” She replied with a seriousness. “I am the daughter of Gaepora the eighth, King of Red Lions, Sovereign of Hyrule and its provinces, and guardian of the Eight Temples.”

 

She did not mention her father’s and her most important function, guarding the secret of the Triforce. That was information to which only the royal family and its most trusted, loyal servants were privy.

 

The balding man leaned back in his chair pensive, calculating. “I see,” was all he said.

 

The skeptical look in his eyes grew, telling her he couldn't believe what she was telling him. But it was in competition with the reality of her presence, and he couldn't reconcile the two.

 

“May I ask you a question, Mr. Woolsey?” She asked him.

 

“Of course.” He responded smiling warily.

 

“Do you find what I'm saying difficult to believe?” She had considered keeping her observation to herself.

 

 _No,_ she decided. _I need more information, and I need to know how much he knows if anything._

 

“Quite frankly, yes.” He responded. “If you had come to me yesterday, this would have been simply one more first contact with an alien world. Well, perhaps not 'simple', but still.”

 

“Why is that?” Doctor Jennifer spoke up, she had been quiet this entire time.

 

Mister Woolsey rubbed his face in his hands before he answered. “This morning, I happened to have breakfast in the mess hall with Dr. Lee. He recently transferred from Stargate Command to the Atlantis base about a week ago. It turns out in his spare time he has a passion for video games, especially one called 'World of Warcraft.' This morning however he was regaling me with details of a game he started playing a few days ago which he obviously enjoyed. As it turns out there's an entire series of these games stretching back to the mid-nineteen-eighties. He had a magazine with a number of pictures from the game which he was looking through and was only too happy to share whether I expressed interest or not.”

 

He then leaned forward to look directly at Zelda. “The resemblance is uncanny.” He declared.

 

“What resemblance?” Doctor Jennifer asked in confusion next to her.

 

Zelda looked as intently at him as he did at her, studying his face. _He knows who I am. He’s known since I walked through the door, and where I come from_.

 

“Zelda, does the name 'Link' mean anything to you?” Mister Woolsey asked out of the blue.

 

Zelda nearly lost her composure at the mention of the name.

 

“How do you know that name?” She then demanded. No one knew that name outside of the royal family.

 

“So you do know the name?” He asked again, pressing his advantage.

 

“That name is a carefully guarded secret of the Hylian royal family.” She replied, feeling more exposed than not. She was not used to another having the upper hand in these kinds of tests. “No one knows it outside of my father and I. Where did you hear it?”

 

“Link?” Jennifer asked, her face even more confused. “Who’s Link?”

 

“Not as carefully guarded in my world as in yours apparently.” Mister Woolsey told her, but his tone of voice softened. “Would you mind explaining it to the good doctor, or should I?”

 

She told this story to no one, having only read it herself in books and papers that had belonged to her mother and were left sealed for her eyes only when she was able to read them. It had been revealed to her by her father, who charged her strictly to keep it to herself. How did this alien Ordonian man learn of it?

 

She chose to break her silence and relate only as much as she needed in order to discover how much this man knew. “This name is given to only one boy born in a generation or over several generations, and always born as a commoner in obscurity. I have yet to meet one of these boys.” Zelda responded carefully. “I have only heard it in the old stories of the Legend.”

 

“The Legend of Zelda.” Mr. Woolsey said.

 

“It was my mother’s legend, yes. And like her, I became its guardian as well.” She confirmed.

 

“The pattern on your dress and the back of your hand, it's the Triforce isn't it?”

 

“What do you know of the Triforce?” She then demanded, her ten year old control beginning to collapse under the strain. He had then just caught her completely off of her guard, and she understood that he was not her equal in this kind of game, but he had been playing it for much, much longer than she.

 

“Not as much as Doctor Lee,” he responded, rubbing his temples as though gaining a headache. “Perhaps we should call him up here.” He said wearily. “I'm sure he'd be thrilled to meet you.”

 

He then pressed a button on his desk and spoke into the air, “Have Doctor Lee report to my office immediately.” A disembodied voice spoke back, “yes, sir.”

 

They waited for a few minutes until a shorter, overweight man with a genial look on his face appeared in the doorway huffing and puffing as though he'd run and his body didn't know what to do with itself. He also wore spectacles and a long white coat over a similar uniform to Doctor Jennifer.

 

“Yes, Mr. Woolsey? You wanted to see me?” He said, he then noticed Zelda sitting in the chair. “Oh, hey great cosplay! You look just like Princess Zelda! You know I just started playing the game myself and I've really started getting into it, although I've never really been into console systems like the Nintendo before. You know...” Mr. Woolsey cut him off.

 

“Doctor Lee. I would like you to meet Princess Zelda of the Kingdom of Hyrule.” He said, his voice tired with grave seriousness.

 

“Wait, what?” Doctor Lee said.

 

“She came through the gate yesterday morning unconscious and woke up in our medical center yesterday afternoon not being able to speak to us at all. She then touched the mark on her right hand and was able to speak fluent English, although with a lovely exotic accent.” He added folding his hands in his lap. He smiled politely when he remarked on her accent.

 

“That's impossible.” Doctor Lee said in disbelief. “This has to be a joke. This is Doctor Keller's little sister, right?” He gestured towards Jennifer. “Dressed up for a costume party?”

 

Zelda stood up from her chair as gracefully as she could, and with a masterful voice that no one would expect from a ten year old girl she declared in her lovely accent, “I am Princess Zelda of the Sovereign Kingdom of Hyrule, daughter of the King of Red Lions, possessor of the Triforce of Wisdom and keeper of the Legend of Zelda. And I assure you, I am just as in the dark about this as you are.” She then looked to Mr. Woolsey for a further explanation.

 

Mr. Woolsey massaged his temples again, his head was obviously hurting as it tried to process through everything.

 

“That's impossible.” Doctor Lee said again. “Well, I mean I suppose it's not totally impossible given multiverse theory, and, let's face it, we've seen some pretty strange things that have been far stranger than this...” He started to ramble on.

 

“Are you saying that Zelda, this girl in front of us, is a character from a video game?” Doctor Jennifer asked.

 

“Well... yes. I mean I don't know about this girl, but Zelda's the princess who's been kidnapped by the Demon King who has to be rescued by the hero Link. It differs from game to game, but the hero always has to rescue her, and defeat the Demon King to keep him imprisoned so he doesn't ever get all pieces of the Triforce. In some games he already has the Triforce of Power, in others he doesn't. But the Princess always carries the Triforce of Wisdom, and Link always carries the Triforce of Courage.” Doctor Lee rattled on, clearly unnerved and excited at the same time.

 

Zelda listened to Doctor Lee’s ramblings with deepening concern as the details of this “game” he described matched the legend which had been passed into her keeping point for point. It was impossible for this Ordonian to know any of this, but he did, and with precise details.

 

“Remind me again, it's been a long time since we've had a visit from someone from another reality. What does the multiverse theory say again?” Mr. Woolsey asked, appearing as though he ether couldn’t believe they were having this conversation, or couldn’t believe he was encouraging the excitable doctor to expound on anything.

 

“Well, it says, essentially, that if a reality can exist then it does exist somewhere because the number of realities is infinite. As we know from experience, there are other Doctor Lees, other Doctor Kellers, and other Richard Woolseys. We've actually met some of our duplicates over the years. But this...” he gestured to Zelda. “We've never encountered this kind of thing before.” He then added under his breath, “wow.”

 

Zelda took all this in with silence, trying to process what she had just heard. Mr. Woolsey then looked at her again, and she found Doctor Jennifer's eyes on her too. Doctor Lee was obviously deep in excited thought.

 

“It's begun again.” She then said quietly, coming to the only conclusion she knew of which might explain it.

 

“What’s begun?” Doctor Jennifer said.

 

“The legend has begun again. The cycle of the Hero, the Princess, and the Demon King is starting once more. The Demon King must have been unsealed somehow. But… but this is different. The Triforce, the whole Triforce, must remain within Hyrule or else our world will be thrown out of balance. Our world depends on it.” She knew this was true, deep within herself. Something was very wrong. “I don’t think this has ever happened before.” She finished.

 

“No. I'm sure not.” Mr. Woolsey said. “It's a first for us as well.” He then paused for a moment and said, “who is this Demon King?”

 

She responded, “He is an ancient evil god, whom the gods of light fought against and sealed away. He broke free of his prison and threatened to engulf all of Hyrule again. The very first hero, Link, fought him back and resealed him in his prison. The seal isn't perfect though. He is a powerful dark force, and he uses his power to possess people who crave power. And so every few hundred years, enough time for it to pass out of living memory, the seal weakens and he rises again. When the good gods foresee this happening they cause the Hero, Link, to be born as a mortal once more, hidden away from the rest of the world, and when it is time, the Hero rises up to undo the Demon King's designs and seal him away again.”

 

“Until the next time.” Mr. Woolsey said.

 

“Until the next time.” Zelda confirmed quietly.

 

“Wow, he almost sounds like an Ori.” Doctor Lee interrupted.

 

Mr. Woolsey looked at him in surprise, and then, “yes. Yes he does indeed.” Pensive again.

 

“I must return to Hyrule, Mr. Woolsey. If the cycle is starting again, the Triforce of Wisdom must be returned to restore the balance.”

 

“I agree.” Mr. Woolsey said without hesitation. “We need to get you home. But in order to do that we need, at the least, a Stargate address to dial to. Without that, we, and you, are stuck.”

 

“Mr. Woolsey, my land will destroy itself in foolishness without the Triforce of Wisdom.” She protested. She then added, “Long ago, a tragedy occurred. My ancestors were tricked into allowing the Demon King’s host to gain possession of the Triforce of Power. The Demon King will not stop until he has possession of all the parts of the Triforce. If he can, he will come looking for me here. As long as I remain here with you, you and your world are in terrible danger. I must return.”

 

“As I said, we need an address.” Mr. Woolsey said, clearly in agreement with her.

 

“What does this address look like? I have seen many books and works which no one else in Hyrule has access to. Perhaps I do know it, and did not know what it was.” She said thinking through everything her tutors had instructed her with, trying to remember all the images and illustrations from her mother’s notes and books.

 

“An address is usually seven symbols in a line or sequence, representing star constellations,” Doctor Lee said. “Six symbols to identify the destination and then one symbol for the point of origin. Of course, we've known a couple of eight symbol addresses, and one nine symbol address because of how far away it is; but usually with another reality it's been a seven symbol address with some kind of extra tweak thrown in.”

 

“Seven symbols.” She repeated. “Show me what they look like,” she said, regal authority dripping from her voice.

 


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 - Meetings

 

Link traveled north along winding paths and trails through the woods with Impa for the better part of two days. He rode straddling Epona as he followed Impa on her sleek, midnight black mare down the paths and into the woods. They had begun on the royal highway which, he had been taught, ran from Ordon north all the way to Castle Town in the middle of the royal province referred to by most people as “Hyrule Field”.

 

The first day of their journey following the highway took them across the great bridge which spanned a great chasm in the earth beneath them, and kept Ordon largely separate and somewhat independent from the rest of the kingdom. It was a kind of hanging rope bridge made with strong, magically reinforced cables and timbers.

 

Link had paused when the two travelers had come to the edge of the chasm, even as Impa continued ahead of him. It was the farthest from his village in Ordon that he had ever gone, and he instinctively knew that once he had passed out of his home province and into the Faron woods on the other side of the chasm there was no going back.

 

A kind of fear began to creep up within him as he looked across the chasm from Epona’s back as the realization that he might not be returning began to overwhelm him. It was a choice that he had to make. No, it was a choice that he was being forced to make, and in that moment, he resented all those powers who were forcing him to make that choice.

 

 _But this is what I was born to do._ The words came to his mind from somewhere inside himself.

 

Link steeled himself, and urged Epona onto the bridge to follow behind the Sage who had not halted her own steed but kept on moving across to the other side.

 

As Link rode, the light, coppery chain mail that Rusl insisted he wore under his forest colored tunic chafed the skin of his arms and neck where his cloth undergarments failed to protect his skin. On his head was a long tapered cap the same color as his tunic which he had retrieved along with a few other small items of either practical or sentimental value from his house before setting off. As impractical as the hat seemed some times, it was another piece of clothing which his mother had made for him, and he couldn’t just leave it behind. Impa had approved when she saw it, saying it suited him.

 

A sword hung from his back in a well crafted Deku wood scabbard under a sturdy but light wooden shield with a thin hammered steel face. The very real steel blade Rusl had equipped him with was one of the finest the swordmaster could produce from his anvil and forge. The hilt was a masterfully crafted, intricately carved bronze and polished Deku wood. The blade itself was highly polished and razor sharp with a slightly golden hue to the metal which was inlaid with runes and knotted designs important to the Ordonian people.

 

“This weapon had been intended as a gift for the royal family from our village.” Rusl had told him upon presenting the blade to the boy. “It is the finest sword I have ever crafted for anyone. I have many blades in my workshop which I could have given you, Link. The Mayor and I want you to know how much you mean to us. We don’t care what race you are. You are from Ordon, and this will always be your home, and we your family. Never forget that, son. You have been my best student. I could not think of anyone better to wield it and bring our little village greater honor.”

 

The boy had treasured the praise from Rusl, and received the sword with pride and a determination to live up to the Ordonian swordmaster’s expectations. He swore within himself to not let the people who had raised him down. He accepted it reverently from the swordmaster, bowing slightly as he did so.

 

The memories which still struggled to integrate within him, however, pronounced it merely adequate for now, and told him there was only one blade which would suit him for the task which lie ahead of him. It was not a disdain which he felt, only the necessities of experience which told him how it must play out.

 

Some distance past the bridge, as the light of the sun began to fight its angry red battle for life which all knew it would surrender to the night, Impa drew her horse off the highway, expecting Link to follow, which he did. She moved through the brush and trees until they both came to a little clearing of grass and fallen trees within the woods. In the center of the clearing were the remains of blackened sticks, twigs, and larger pieces of wood which had clearly been used for a campfire.

 

“Go, find dry wood around the clearing, boy. The night will get cold.” She ordered him, and he did as he was told.

 

Within a short span he had collected a large bundle of small dead branches and sticks to make a fire with from around the edges of the clearing. As he did, he could feel the eyes of many, many creatures on him, watching him. Whereas the boy within him became frightened, the memories of the Hero brought to mind exactly who and what were watching him, and the knowledge that, this close to the highway, they would likely stay far away from the campsite.

 

Returning to the center of the clearing, he began to instinctively arrange the wood into a tripod which would allow air to flow, placing dry grass and leaves underneath for tinder. He then took a flint which he had packed and began to unsheath his sword to use it with the flint to create a spark for the fire.

 

“Leave your sword, child. There’s no need to mar the swordmaster’s work with such a menial task.” Impa then stopped him, raising her hand palm up.

 

Link then began to slide the sword slowly back into its sheath, still watching her and wondering how then she expected him to make a fire.

 

The old woman then held her open palm towards the arrangement of wood and blew at it gently across her palm. Immediately, the wood burst into flame.

 

 _Magic_. The thought came unbidden. _Hylian magic._

 

Ordonians practiced very little magic as a rule, preferring to rely on what they could engineer, make, or forge themselves. As he had once been told by his mother, the magical arts didn’t come as easily or naturally to the rounded eared people as it did to Hylians. Only his adoptive mother, Saria, out of all those in the village, had been the only person he had known to ever use it or to even appear to know how. Even then, with the exception of their house, she used it only sparingly. She too was Hylian.

 

Brief images of the experience of magic, both wondrous and terrifying, flashed through his mind from his other memories. Those Heroes he may have been in the past knew about magic only too well, and had even used it somewhat themselves, though none had ever fully understood or trusted it. In that, he took comfort in the idea of him always having had just a little Ordonian within him after all.

 

That night around the campfire was spent silently as the Sage appeared to fall asleep sitting up with her eyes open. Link himself was preoccupied with his own thoughts, chewing on a piece of jerked meat which Rusl’s wife had packed for him until his eyes grew too heavy and he lay down next to the fire.

 

On both that day of travel and the following, neither Hero nor Sage had said much to the other except what was necessary, and the truth was, he was glad for it. The memories which had been awakened within him were hard to sort out, as though he no longer knew who he was. He was a hundred different people, and yet he was none of them, but still just the boy who lost his mother days before.

 

Having turned off the main highway to follow barely discernible trails through the woods, Impa led him deeper, far deeper into the forest of Faron Province. More flashes of memory surfaced as he followed her. The image of a poisonous violet fog ran through his mind at one point as they crossed a tree filled depression, but there was no context to the image, no way of knowing if it had been a recent lifetime or thousands of years ago.

 

The memories which returned to him didn’t just settle in his mind, but deeper within his limbs and body as well as his legs and torso adjusted and took control of Epona as though he had been riding her for decades, and not the few months that the goat-herd had possessed her. The muscles of his arms and hands too knew how to hold, slash, block, and parry with a sword in ways that he was certain Rusl could only dream about, but he also knew that he himself had never swung anything else but the wooden practice swords the other boys used, and while he may have been more proficient in his lessons, Rusl had always still been his better before now.

 

Impa’s horse followed a steep, winding, and at times broken path down into a canyon where Link could not see the bottom. Her horse took each step with a sure footing as though it had done this hundreds of times, and Link pressed Epona to follow, even though not sure of it himself. The memories within him urged him onwards, telling him it would be fine.

 

As they descended, he wondered what forces had formed and shaped the canyon. Were they natural? Were they magic? He was certain the answer must lay within those other memories, but they were silent on the subject.

 

Eventually, the path led into a cavern which turned into a kind of tunnel into a series of grottoes or gardens walled off from one another except by more passages through the rock. A faint but lively melody played on pan-pipes could be heard echoing off the walls of the grottoes, but the Sage ignored it, and continued on her path, expecting him to keep up.

 

They finally set eyes on the temple by sunset of the third day of travel, or rather on the ruins of a temple which might had been there millennia ago. At first, Link was confused, and then recognition from his other memory took hold. He knew this place well. His past lives had visited this place many times over the course of thousands of years. The landscape had changed. Buildings had crumbled. But there was no mistaking it for what it was. The ten year old boy never having been there, he nevertheless recognized the ruins for what they were.

 

They had crumbled even further since the last memory he had of seeing them, but he instinctively knew that didn't matter to the Temple of Time. The roof and walls had collapsed centuries before even then, and he could feel that “his” last visit had been centuries ago. But time itself was irrelevant to this edifice.

 

Only the doors stood as pristine as the day they were fashioned. The doors set in hinges in a door frame that seemed completely useless and out of place when the rest of the temple was open and exposed to the elements. This is all it would appear to be to the adventurous stranger who managed to make it this far alive.

 

Appearances could be deceptive where the Temples of Hyrule were concerned.

 

Impa had led her mount down a worn and broken flight of steps to let her horse graze in what had been the sanctuary of the temple that the doors opened up on to. She then motioned for Link to do the same with Epona, though he hesitated, knowing the dangers of this place.

 

“She will be fine, you have my word.” Impa told him. “We do not believe you will need her further at present. She will be waiting here with us.”

 

“We?” Link asked, though Impa gave no answer.

 

Impa and he then returned up the broken steps to stand in front of the seemingly useless doors.

 

Something didn’t seem right, however. He looked at the doors more closely, and the space in front of them, and couldn’t help but feel that something was missing. Then he knew what it was.

 

“There was a guardian here.” He said, the image of an armored stone warrior positioned eternally on guard in front of the doors.

 

“Very good. You remember.” She said. “There is a guardian when this temple needs one, but why would the temple need to guard itself from me?”

 

She stood facing the double doors, staring at them intently. She then pulled out a small harp and played six notes, and then three more. She did this twice. The melody was familiar to him, from a very long time ago, except for the last three notes. That didn't seem right. It seemed out of place. She replaced the harp into the folds of her red cloak and then waited. There wasn't long to wait.

 

The frame of the doorway glowed with a blue light as a series of strange symbols emerged and then vanished around it. The doors creaked and cracked and slowly swung open towards them. A blue haze, like a brilliant pool of water engulfed the door frame. Link had never seen anything like it. He couldn't see the other side, just the reflective pool of water. Link walked up to it and touched the surface of the water. It rippled gently beneath his touch.

 

Impa said nothing about it. She took one step, and then walked straight into the water, disappearing from sight. Link knew he was to follow. The memory of where he was, and of having done this before was strong. Of course, his memory of it wasn't a pleasant one. Then, he had come to collect a piece of a mirror and kill a demon. Somehow that prospect seemed less daunting. He didn't really know what await him now.

 

He walked forward into the water. Immediately stars exploded in front of him and he felt himself pulled across the vastness of space and time. Then, just as quickly as it began, it ended and he found himself stepping down onto a stone staircase leading into the center of a temple that looked newly built. Gold gleamed from alcoves and walls. It was beautiful beyond what he could ever know, and yet he knew that he had known it before, and it hadn't changed since then.

 

“Come, hero.” Impa said to him, gesturing him down the stairs. “The others are waiting for us.”

 

“The others?” Link asked.

 

“What has happened has disturbed the whole of Hyrule, past and present. I am not the only Sage who has noticed. We are meeting here, where we can all discuss what has happened, and best advise you on what to do about it.” She said as they walked forward towards another set of doors leading further into the temple.

 

“What _I_ am to do about it?” He asked, thinking he misunderstood what she said.

 

“Yes, Hero. We must stay and guard the temples. You and you alone can resolve this. This is the fate of the chosen Hero of the goddesses.” She answered him. Her voice was quiet, but in the silence of the temple, it rebounded off the walls and slammed into him with a thud.

 

She led him into the inner sanctum. It was a smaller room ringed in gold and marble. At the center of it stood a pedestal with a magnificent sword buried to the hilt within its center. Around the pedestal was a gathering of people from every corner of Hyrule.

 

“Welcome Hero of Hyrule.” One among them said to the agreement of the rest.

 

Link bowed instinctively.

 

“You are younger now than we had hoped.” Another said, this was a “Kokiri” he remembered, one of the mysterious forest people that made their villages deep within the part of Faron Province known as the “Lost Woods.”

 

“I thought there were only eight Sages,” Link said, “for the eight temples.”

 

“There are only ever eight Sages at any one point in time, young hero, but time means nothing here in this place, and we need the wisdom of all the ages of Hyrule right now.” A Zora woman, one of the gray skinned water dwelling peoples of Lanayru province, spoke up.

 

“Why? What has happened that is so different?” He asked again, this time to every Sage which had ever lived.

 

The Legend was always more or less the same. The time and circumstances varied, but it always happened more or less the same. He knew this from both his storybook and from the flashes of memory that came to his mind.

 

“Tell him,” this was an older Hylian man.

 

Impa spoke up. “The Princess is gone from our world, and with her the Triforce of Wisdom.”

 

“Gone? Where has she gone?” Link questioned.

 

“We don't know.” Impa responded.

 

“You don't know? You're the great sages of Hyrule from all the ages. You can't find her?” He said, raising his voice. He remembered lifetime after lifetime fighting to save Princess Zelda again and again, and they lost her completely?

 

“She is nowhere to be found in any time period of Hyrule. She is not in our world.” A Goron man with a rocky beard, one of the large, stone based people from Eldin Province, said.

 

“What about Termina? Or the Twilight realm?” Link asked.

 

“We searched those places as well. They are still strongly connected to Hyrule’s own reality, and subject to her gods. The Princess is nowhere that we can search.” Impa said.

 

“Believe me, hero,” a dragon then addressed him, “we've looked intently through all the worlds and times we can reach. She is nowhere among them.”

 

“This has happened only once before.” Another Sage spoke up, “many hundreds of years ago. The consequences were profound and dangerous for both our world, and the world to which she was kidnapped. Their timeline and natural course of development were irretrievably altered as we came to learn. This must not happen again.”

 

“You must find her and bring her back, Hero. You must recover the Triforce and the Princess who carries it.” Impa told him.

 

“You remember who she is, do you not, young Hero?” Another woman, younger than Impa yet so much the same stepped forward.

 

Link thought back. It was an old memory, one of the oldest, from a time when the great city in the sky, Skyloft, was still inhabited. It was from the beginning of Hyrule itself. Yes, he remembered. Just as he was reborn so was she, no less important than the first time she took Hylian form.

 

“Hylia.” He whispered. “The Lady Hylia. I remember.”

 

“Yes, Hero. Hylia herself. If she and the Triforce of Wisdom are not returned to Hyrule our world will be thrown out of balance and into a chaos which we may not be able to undo. Hyrule will destroy itself without Hylia to sustain it.”

 

“What do I do? Where do I start?” Link asked.

 

The sages murmured among themselves. He could hear their low voices discussing what to say and what not to. Finally the younger woman like Impa answered him, “There are worlds older than Hyrule that we are aware of. Thousands of years ago, before even my time, the first Hylians came to this world from another. I believe it is most prudent to begin there, in that world of our origins.”

 

“How do I do that?” Link asked.

 

Impa touched the pedestal where the sword was embedded. A great ring rose in front of him until it was completely vertical, like a gateway. Strange symbols etched in blue covered its face. Suddenly, the symbols began to glow brightly as the ring began to spin one way and then the other, back and forth until ten of the symbols on the ring were lit. When this happened, a great, inverted vortex of what looked like water rushed out from the open center of the ring, and then just as quickly, collapsed back into it leaving only a shimmering “puddle” of what appeared to be bright, illuminated water.

 

“I warn you, hero, once you pass through this portal, we can help you no longer. You will be beyond our protection or even our knowledge. We don't know what will happen, and we don't know how you may return. Once you have Princess Zelda, you must secure a way back to us on your own.” Impa warned him gravely.

 

“I understand.” Link said.

 

“Before you go, you may have need of a Sacred treasure which I'm sure you'll recognize.” The Goron told him.

 

He looked at the sword in the pedestal. He moved towards it, but was blocked by the younger “Impa”. “Not now, boy,” she said forcefully. “The Master Sword still keeps the Demon King imprisoned. If you take it now, with the Triforce and Hylia gone, Hyrule's destruction is assured. You must retrieve her without it.”

 

Link withdrew his hand and nodded. It seemed strange to go on without the Master Sword, it was out of place. But nothing about this felt _normal_.

 

“No, but you will need this,” Impa held out what looked like an amethyst magnifying glass set with a pinkish lens.

 

“This lens will reveal things for what they really are, and will allow you to read books which you couldn't otherwise. It may be more valuable to you than the Master Sword in your search.” The old woman said.

 

Link nodded, then turned to the gateway that had opened up in front of him.

 

“Where does this portal lead?” Link asked.

 

“To a place where the first ancestors came from, that is all we know.” The Goron said. “No one has stepped back through to this place for ten thousand years.”

 

Once again Link found himself facing a brilliantly lit pool of water. He took Epona's reins tightly in his hand and plunged into it yet again. Every other time before, he knew, he had a good idea of what to expect when his time came. This time... he didn't even know if he could come back.

 

* * *

 

Zelda had been studying several sets of symbols for hours without rest in an empty office. They had allowed her to sit down at a wooden and copper desk in another wire frame and black padded chair, and given her a kind of highly polished tablet like one might use to write one. Except this tablet lit up with images and words.

 

At present, its face was covered in the oddly shaped runes which covered the face of the circular ring she had viewed through the bay windows in Mister Woolsey’s office. The thirty nine symbols were arranged in rows and columns so that she could see them clearly. They were stylistically different from the previous thirty six symbols that she had studied in that the first set were a series of dots interconnected with thin lines. These looked like they could have been brush strokes with a pen or brush.

 

But try as she might to make any comparison with the symbols she was given with any design or written language she had been shown or taught, she just couldn’t. They _did_ look vaguely familiar, both sets, but she couldn’t remember where she had seen them before. Like with the sense of deja vu she kept getting at every corner she turned in this city, she felt she knew them somehow, but the details of that knowledge remained frustratingly out of reach.

 

Doctor Lee, who turned out to be a gentle and kind man if somewhat awkward, had been instructed by Mister Woolsey to assist her because of his strangely acquired knowledge of her world. He too went over the symbols and compared them with images on a second tablet that he studiously avoided showing her. When she had inquired about seeing what was on his tablet’s face, he apologetically replied that it might cause more problems between their two worlds if he did.

 

The daylight had long ago faded from the office’s glass windows when she set the tablet down on the desk one last time, rubbing her eyes to keep the lids from closing on their own. She then felt a slender woman’s hand on the shoulder of her dress and looked up to see that hauntingly familiar face of Doctor Jennifer once more.

 

“Hey, you’ve been at this non-stop for hours.” She told the Princess. “It’s not going to do anyone any good if you pass out here from exhaustion. You need to take a break, and try again tomorrow.”

 

Seeing the wisdom in her words, Zelda nodded at her wordlessly, then excused herself politely from Doctor Lee’s company and went with the healer.

 

The doctor led her back to the small, sparsely furnished apartment across the city she had slept in the night before. Some plain white night clothes to change into were already lain out on the bed. Jennifer stayed with the ten year old princess until she was out of her ornate, medieval style, pink and silver dress, dressed in the night clothes, and then under the covers in the bed. Zelda fell asleep within seconds as the doctor watched over her.

 

“Dr. Keller, please report to the briefing room.” Mr. Woolsey's voice came through her earpiece as she stood watch over the unusual girl.

 

“I'm on my way,” she touched her earpiece, responding quietly.

 

She slipped out of the small studio apartment and past the two soldiers in uniform set to guard the door for the night. It still seemed to her to be overkill for a ten year old, but then as she thought about it, her colleagues had seen far more innocent looking yet incredibly dangerous things in their sojourn within the ancient city.

 

When she arrived, Mr. Woolsey and Dr. Lee were sitting waiting for her, along with two other men. Rodney McKay, the chief scientist on Atlantis, was a mildly overweight man in his thirties with sandy blond hair and blue eyes. He tended to be a bit on the neurotic side, and Jennifer believed him to have borderline Asperger’s Syndrome, but he was a brilliant physicist and mathematician and had been responsible for more than half of all the new research and discoveries in the city. Jennifer had also been in a relationship with him now for a few years. Colonel John Shepherd, the military commander, appeared to be in his early forties with blackish brown hair, somewhat elfish ears, and usually an impish grin.

 

It was getting later at night, and there was fresh coffee in a decanter set out with ceramic mugs on the wooden half circle or horse shoe shaped copper and synthetics table. The architecture of the room itself followed the same, cathedral like architecture of the chamber which held the stargate. It was dominated by green and copper paneling with the same red marble flooring. Computer monitors hung in a couple of places around the terminal points of the half circle on opposite sides of bay windows that looked out over other parts of the city. It looked comfortable, yet also both academic and professional. Like it had been designed by a race of scholars and scientists.

 

“Dr. Keller, have a seat please, there’s fresh coffee if you’d like some.” Mister Woolsey gestured to the decanter. “Dr. Lee and I have just been entertaining Dr. McKay and Colonel Shepherd by bringing them up to speed on our little Princess.”

 

The disbelieving and skeptical looks on the faces of the other two men bore out the truth of his words.

 

“So, Dr. Keller, what do you think of our... royal charge?” Mr. Woolsey asked.

 

“She's friendly enough, but she's like no ten year old I've ever seen.” Jennifer replied. “She's hardworking, serious, devoted to her duty, and far more mature than most adults I've ever met.”

 

Mr. Woolsey nodded in agreement with her observations.

 

“Alright, now that we're all here, we need to decide what is the best course of action regarding Princess Zelda and her dilemma.” Mr. Woolsey said. “Any thoughts?”

 

“I used to play this game when I was a kid way back in the eighties,” Colonel Shepherd commented, “I never thought I'd be doing it for real.”

 

“I'm with you there,” Dr. Lee said, “I mean the implications are mind-boggling.”

 

“Why can't we just send her off-world to one of our allies for the time being? That way if this Demon King comes looking for her, he won't find her here and pass us by.” Dr. McKay offered.

 

“But then we'll just be putting our allies in danger, Rodney,” Colonel Shepherd said, “and if I'm not mistaken, it won't reduce us as a target, will it? He'll just get ticked she's not here.”

 

“Uh, that’s not really an option, is it?” Dr. Keller asked. “I mean, all things considered she is still just a little girl that needs to get back home, right?”

 

“In all likelihood, really,” Dr. Lee said, answering Colonel Shepherd’s question. “I've spent a large part of today going through all the game guides and walkthroughs for the Legend of Zelda games. The demon king isn't the understanding type, I mean... No, if he comes here he's going to do a lot of damage no matter what.”

 

“Alright, next option.” Mr. Woolsey said.

 

Jennifer’s expression became increasingly uncomfortable in the way the men at the table were discussing Zelda’s near future.

 

“We help her get back to her own world to let this 'cycle' continue like it's supposed to.” Colonel Shepherd stated, glancing at Jennifer.

 

“Except it's already gone beyond her reality, and spilled over into ours and who knows how many others.” Rodney countered.

 

“What do you mean? Explain.” Asked Mr. Woolsey.

 

“I mean look, she's here. Why is she here? If this demon king, Ori, rogue ascended being whatever you want to call him is responsible for this, then why is she here? Why put her in our hands where we're going to do everything within reason to protect her? Why not just have his way with her wherever he's at?” The chief scientist stated.

 

It was a good question.

 

“Are you saying this demon king isn't responsible for her being here?” Dr. Keller asked.

 

“Maybe not directly at least. But from what I can see, whoever sent her here did it to protect her and whatever power she's carrying. Someone else from outside our reality made this our business for some reason, and now we've been dragged into this, this... video game,” he spat the words, “against our will.”

 

“Why would they do that? If they knew it could harm their world for her, what did you call it a 'Triforce'? Yes, for her Triforce to be removed from their world, why risk it?” Mr. Woolsey asked.

 

“Maybe it has something to do with who she really is, or I mean, who she's supposed to be.” Dr. Lee said.

 

All eyes around the table turned to Dr. Lee with questioning looks.

 

“Who she really is?” Colonel Shepherd asked.

 

“What do you mean?” Mr. Woolsey added.

 

“Well, in one of the more recent games it was revealed that Zelda was actually the reincarnation of the good goddess Hylia. In that game she had to go through several trials to recover her ancient memories. She's bound to Hylian form and tied to the world of Hyrule itself.” Dr. Lee explained.

 

“So whoever sent her here felt like she couldn't be protected there anymore and sent her to us?” Colonel Shepherd reasoned.

 

“Yeah, I mean, it would explain a lot of things.” Dr. Lee said.

 

“I don't get it, though. Why interrupt the cycle now? How could we defend her any better than her 'hero'?” Colonel Shepherd asked. “It seems like everything's worked up till now.”

 

“Good question.” Mr. Woolsey said.

 

Rodney became silent and thoughtful. Jennifer had no answer to the question asked either.

 

Dr. Lee then said, “well, if Zelda's ten years old, then Link would be ten years old as well right now. They're always the same age, but I don't know why that would make a difference now. In the games, he's either ten or seventeen when it all happens. Maybe he does have to do it, but needs some help this time.”

 

“But how could we help him?” Mr. Woolsey asked.

 

Rodney’s expression then lit up and he snapped his fingers several times.

 

“We're talking about a powerful ascended being right?” He asked.

 

“Well, yes, we think so, I mean that’s kind of how he’s described in the games.” Dr. Lee answered.

 

“Then we may actually be able to put an end to this demon king once and for all. Let the good guys win for good, so to speak.” Dr. McKay told him, a tinge of excitement creeping into his voice.

 

“How?” Mr. Woolsey asked.

 

“Well, as you know, we've been on pretty good terms lately with the former priors of the Ori and they've helped us to retrieve Adria's flagship from their galaxy.” Rodney started.

 

“And?” Colonel Shepherd asked.

 

“And... we were finally able to download the entire database from it and load it into Atlantis' computers.” Rodney continued.

 

“And?” Colonel Shepherd asked again, impatiently.

 

“And... Along with that database came the plans for the Sangraal device. We didn't have the ability to recreate it before, but with Atlantis' computer system and laboratories, we could conceivably build another one.” Rodney said with the beginning of a smile.

 

“Don't we need an ancient's help for that?” Mr. Woolsey asked. The last time it was used was a sore memory for him.

 

“Um... Excuse me, what's a Sangraal device?” Jennifer asked.

 

“It's a weapon designed by Merlin to interrupt the specific frequencies of ascended beings. It's a bomb capable of killing ascended beings.” Rodney said, pleased with himself.

 

“Merlin?” Jennifer asked, even more confused.

 

“Yeah, he was an ancient around the time Atlantis was evacuated and ascended for a few millennia before he decided to take human form again in the tenth century.” Rodney rattled off as though it was unimportant.

 

“Oh.” The doctor replied.

 

“But wait a second,” Dr. Lee began, “not all the gods and spirits of Hyrule are bad according to the games. If we detonate it there, it might have the same effect as keeping Zelda here.”

 

“Could we limit its effects? Make it focus on a single target?” Mr. Woolsey asked.

 

“Well,” Rodney stopped and thought, “we're talking about canceling one set of frequencies with another. It should be possible to point those canceling frequencies in a specific direction.”

 

“Alright, Rodney, work on it.” Mr. Woolsey said.

 

“We would need the Master Sword.” Dr. Lee said.

 

“What is that?” Mr. Woolsey asked.

 

“Well, it’s a magic sword that’s found in all the games just like Link and Zelda are. Usually, Link is able to get it about halfway through. In the games it keeps the seal intact on the demon king’s prison, and it's the only weapon that can actually harm him. If everything else from the games is real, then we may need to somehow integrate the Sangraal into its blade.” Dr. Lee said.

 

“Alright, we'll take that into consideration.” Mr. Woolsey said. “Meeting adjourned.”

 

As the others left the conference room, Mr. Woolsey rubbed his temples again and wished for the simpler days of being a corporate lawyer. Things seemed so much less complicated then.

 


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4 – New Worlds

 

Link materialized in shadowed darkness. It took a few minutes for his eyes to adjust to the extremely dim, somewhat orangish light barely glowing in the distance from where he stood.

The lighting in the temple he had just come from, while not excessively bright, was like broad daylight in comparison to the place where he now found himself.

 

When the pupils of his forest green eyes dilated as wide as they could to let in the meager light, he was able to make out shapes around him and then he was able to see more or less clearly. His night eyesight had always been keener than his surrogate Ordonian family’s were due to his Hylian heritage. His native people’s senses were, on the whole, keener than the southern, round eared folk.

 

He found himself standing in a chamber lined with sturdy, thick, obsidian black columns along the walls and at intervals throughout. In the dim lighting, he could not yet see the far wall, and could only barely see the ceiling above him where the columns terminated at. The polished marble white walls beyond the columns were lined with more aged books from floor to ceiling set neatly into stone shelves.

 

 _It’s a library._ A voice from the past within him told him. _A real library_. His ten year old self had little experience with such places, never having strayed far from the village of his childhood, though his mother had spoken of the libraries of Castle Town and beyond.

 

Under his feet, several inches of dust covered what had once been a highly polished obsidian stone floor. Placed in various locations around the room were benches, desks, and chairs which seemed to all be made of the same deep black stone the columns were. The lighting for the library hall came from strange lamps which barely gave off enough light to read by.

 

He turned to look behind him, instinctively expecting another great metal ring like the one he had stepped into, but there was nothing that he would have expected. There was no doorway like with the entry to the of Time, and no ring like the one which had brought him here. Strangely, it looked like he had just materialized out of the stale, dry, cool air.

 

Behind him instead was a large, worn, red leatherbound book laying open on a pedestal. The book’s yellowed vellum pages were clean even as the black stone pedestal and what he could see of the cover were caked with layers of dust. It appeared for all the world as though the book had only just been opened minutes before.

 

As Link took in his surroundings, he bent down to study the thick dust on the floor. It hadn't been disturbed for a long, long time. He then stood up to look at the book on the pedestal. He was fortunate the pedestal wasn't taller than he was, but he was forcefully reminded of his youth again as he realized a full grown man would be looking down on the book, while it lay just beneath his eye level.

 

The book itself seemed whole and intact. He carefully picked up the front cover and closed it, blowing the layers of remaining dust off the otherwise plain red leather cover to see the title. The script however was illegible, at least to him, though he couldn’t help but have a sense of familiarity with it, like he _should_ know it. It consisted of what looked to him like random squiggles and lines, and not the orderly Hylian script his mother had taught him to read.

 

Remembering the Sage’s words, Link pulled the amethyst lens from the pouch he carried on his belt and, placing the crystal over the text of the alien book’s title, looked at the writing again. The lines and squiggles reshaped themselves into real words he could read.

 

It said _The Book of Hyrule_.

 

He opened the book again and began examining its pages through the decrypting lens. Because of the apparent age of the pages, he fingered the vellum lightly, only touching the very edges of each page as he turned them. With his other hand, he held the lens over the text of the page and let it do its translating work.

 

The writing was not what he had been expecting. Rather than telling a story about Hyrule, it was _describing_ Hyrule, the world of Hyrule, itself; what it was like, how it would work, how much water, what the rules were that governed it. It was the strangest book he had ever seen. Carefully turning to the end, on the back page was what looked like a little glass inset window the size of an adult’s hand. But what was truly wondrous about the window was the image contained within. All of world of his birth appeared to fly by within the window as though he himself might be flying over it. The image crossed forests and deserts, the grasslands of Hyrule field, and great lakes before then swinging back towards the Temple of Time, and then the room where the sages waited for him. He could see the faces and forms of those Sage through the window, and then wondered if they could see him as well.

 

Something within him, a feeling that reached deep beyond even his other memories told him the book was somehow his key to returning, and he was thankful that it was just right here waiting for him. Though he wasn't ready to try and figure out how to use it yet. He still had a princess to rescue and return home.

 

He closed the book and then, taking it from the pedestal, he slid it carefully into a large pouch hanging from his belt. He didn't think anyone would mind because, judging from the layers of dust it didn't look like anyone had been in the library, or even knew it existed for a long, long time.

 

He then went over to the books on the shelves to investigate those. They were filled with more books like it, as well as others that seemed to be notebooks on different worlds, as well as something called “The Art.” He spent about an hour perusing the shelves of books trying to decide what might be useful and what might not be. The normal ten year old boy within him questioned why these dusty old books would be of any value, but the hero which had been awakened within him knew all too well the value of the information which the right book could give. He collected two of the smaller notebooks on The Art into his pouch as well. From what the lens showed him of their contents, he thought they might help him understand how to use the book which bore his homeland’s name.

 

He then turned to his next problem, how to get out of this room and continue his search for Princess Zelda. It seemed to be shaped like a rectangle, but was so long the far end of it remained in darkness. Returning to the center pathway of the room where the red leather book’s pedestal was, he began to walk towards the far end of the chamber he couldn’t see.

 

It truly seemed endless, the shelves of books looked like they wanted to go on forever. Every so often he would pass another pedestal with a book lying closed. He investigated the first few and found they were “describing books” just like the one which rested heavily in his pouch, although he didn't recognize the names of the worlds they described. Places with names like _Azeroth_ and _Middle-Earth_. This last one had been laying open like the _Book of Hyrule_ had been, its back panel clean and exposed. He checked the floor around him and could find no footprints in the dust there except his own.

 

He considered it briefly, wondering what the implications of the open book might mean, but then moved on, leaving each of those other books where they lay. He continued on until at long last he came to a large set of obsidian, stone double doors.

 

 _Why is everything here made from stone?_ He found himself asking. _It’s like the builders of this place didn’t know what wood was, or maybe they didn’t have any to build with?_

 

He pushed hard on the doors. Much to his surprise, they gave way easily, scraping stone on stone, but not loudly. When the doors opened wide enough, he was able to make out a narrow set of steps just beyond them ascending upwards. They appeared gray to his eyes, and like much of the library itself looked to be covered in undisturbed dust. He focused his eyes on them further until he could tell that the stairs did not run straight, but appeared to curve off to the left as a spiral staircase shortly after the landing.

 

With no other direction to head, he proceeded to climb the stairs. The small, strange, dim orange lights were set into the walls of the stairwell at intervals of every ten steps or so allowing him to see his pathway, though as he pointed his eyes upwards through a narrow, circular opening, there was no brighter light that he could see above him.

 

The spiral stairs felt as though they went on forever as he climbed.

 

 _How deep underground was this library?_ He wondered, and then he wondered, _Why would anyone build a library that far underground?_

 

It was a question that his ten year old mind couldn’t conceive of an answer for. The dust which covered everything suggested that no one had used it in living memory, but why burrow a library underground in the first place and then just forget about it?

 

The muscles of his legs began to ache after what felt like an eternity as he continued to climb, and he was not an out of shape boy to begin with. The ladders which his treehouse demanded for navigation saw to that. It felt as though there would be no end to the stairwell.

 

His legs rubbery and weak, he finally emerged through another set of stone doors into a ruined structure, constructed of solid granite blocks. If it had a ceiling and a roof at one time, it had long since rotted away as he viewed the scene. The lighting seemed to be just a little better in the open air building, though it was still dim and carried an orangish hue.

 

Looking above him, it appeared to be night, but overcast in whatever world he was in as he turned his eyes upwards into the black sky overhead but saw no stars or moon. The air around him still did not smell fresh, even though it was cool, and there was no breeze to speak of. Instead, it had the earthy scent of being in a cavern underground, something his other memories told him his past lives had much experience with.

 

A man raised his startled voice in unintelligible words off to his left.

 

Link’s face snapped in the direction of the voice to see a lone figure, a light skinned, clean shaven Ordonian man with sandy blond hair and spectacles over light blue eyes. He had the build of a man who had been trained to fight, but the bearing of a scholar and wore a long white coat open over an untucked blue buttoned shirt and trousers.

 

The Ordonian man watched him for several seconds before he shouted something else in the same, unintelligible tongue, though the shout was directed out into the air as though to other people nearby, and not to Link himself.

 

The man held his hands up level with he chest, palms outward in a gesture of being unarmed and no threat to the boy.

 

Link then tried talking to him by asking the first question that came to his mind, “Where am I?”

 

It seemed the sensible thing to start with, anyway.

 

About thirty seconds later several more Ordonians dressed in strange, form fitting black clothes came rushing in and pointed what looked like weapons at him.

 

Link responded by pulling his shield and sword from his back.

 

The shield was a good Hylian shield which Rusl had given him. It had been issued to the swordmaster years before in the Royal army, but had hung disused on his wall as an ornament since then. Like most shields in use by Hyrule’s army, it had been enchanted by royal magicians with special magics to resist any attack, magic or otherwise, the boy had been told. He was fortunate the shield was large enough to protect most of his body, but light enough for his child’s frame to wield with one hand.

 

“I'm not here for trouble.” Link said. “I'm looking for Princess Zelda.” He then added, “do you know where she is?”

 

The man in the white coat looked hard at him and stepped back when he heard the name “Zelda.” Link could see the flash of recognition in his eyes as the man collapsed backward into the chair he had been sitting in prior to Link's arrival. He seemed to be muttering something to himself out loud.

 

One of the men in black then called out something to Link which he didn't understand. His lack of understanding must have been apparent because the man then pointed at him and then motioned downward with his weapon.

 

 _He wants me to put my sword and shield down_ , Link thought, _not likely_.

 

The same man in black, a soldier, Link guessed, then called out to the man in white. The man in white then responded with something else. Link watched their faces closely. They were having a discussion about something, probably him as the man gestured to the archway Link had emerged from. He then said something else and Link could clearly make out the name “Zelda” as it passed back and forth between the two men several times.

 

The soldier then called out to his men, and they slowly lowered their weapons, motioning for Link to do the same. He was outnumbered, though that had never slowed his past lives down. But, the boy didn't yet know what those strange weapons could do, and he didn't necessarily want to have to find out right at that moment either.

 

 _They don’t want a confrontation any more than I do_ , Link understood. _And the man in white recognized Zelda’s name. It’s not much, but it’s a start._

 

Link slowly re-sheathed his sword, although he kept his shield raised. The soldier in charge seemed satisfied with that and they lowered their weapons completely.

 

 _Now what do I do?_ Link wondered. _I can't communicate with them, but at least they won't try to kill me_.

 

The man in white seemed somewhat recovered and sensed the impasse which had now formed. He then took out sheet of paper and drew something on it and held it up to show it to Link. He then tapped the picture and pointed at him, and then surprised the boy utterly when he said, “Link?”

 

Link looked at the picture, it was an imperfect replica of his birthmark. The mark of the Triforce.

 

In response, Link carefully pulled the glove off of his left hand and held it up so that the man could see the back of it. The face of the man in white held an expression of near disbelief. He heard his name and Zelda's several times as the man talked furiously with the first soldier whose face also took on an unbelieving look. He then heard another word passed back and forth several times so that it sounded like a name, “Atlantis.” He didn't know who or what “Atlantis” was, but it was important somehow.

 

The Hylian boy then remembered the books below, and had an idea of how he could communicate with these people.

 

He motioned with his free hand for the piece of paper and the writing stick that the man in white had used. Deciding he would have to trust that they wouldn't try to harm him in the next few minutes, Link returned his shield to its resting place over the sword’s scabbard on his back.

 

Kneeling down on the stone floor, he then wrote a single sentence in his native tongue and script, “Do you know where Zelda is?”

 

He then slowly pulled the Lens from his pouch and motioned for the man in white to approach him and look through it. He did and then nodded in surprise.

 

Encouraged by this first success, Link took the paper again and wrote, “Can you lead me to her?”

 

The man read it and nodded again. He then wrote some words on the paper and Link looked through the Lens. It read, “Are you Link?”

 

Surprised, the boy replied, “Yes.”

 

The man then asked on the paper, “Where did you come from?”

 

Link responded in Hylian, “Hyrule. I don't know where I am. I must find and bring Zelda home.”

 

The man nodded and then said something at length to the soldiers. Link heard the word “Atlantis” being said several times, as well as “Zelda”.

 

He then wrote on the paper, “We know where Zelda is. She came to our world several days ago. She's in a city far from here, but we can get you there soon. She mentioned your name several times, but we didn’t know where or if you would come. We didn't expect you to show up in this city.”

 

Link nodded, and then stumbled a bit. It had been a long climb up the spiral stairs, and the adrenaline of the encounter with the man in the white coat and what looked to be his guards was wearing off quickly.

 

The man gave him a sympathetic expression and a half smile. He wrote on the paper again and then motioned with his hand to his mouth, “Are you hungry?”

 

Link nodded again. The truth was that the last few days, from the time he left his village until the present moment had worn him out completely.

 

“Come with me. We have food. You can trust me. My name is Daniel.” The man wrote.

 

Link looked into his eyes and saw that he could be trusted. In a way the man's eyes reminded him of Saria's. They were kind and compassionate. He felt again like a ten year old boy in over his head, exhausted and needing some comfort.

 

“Okay.” He wrote on the paper.

 

The man then led him from the ruins. The soldiers followed, their weapons at ease, but never out of their hands.

 

* * *

 

Zelda woke the next morning to a glorious sunrise in the east rising over the broad ocean. From the eastward facing windows of her apartment the golden sunlight streamed in bathing her in soft twilight which slowly brightened into full day, rousing her gently from sleep.

 

She sat up from her bed in her nightclothes and, sliding to the floor on her bare feet, she padded softly towards the glass inset door which led out onto the apartment’s small balcony. Here, a metal frame table with two matching chairs had been placed up against the solid railing of the balcony, though she chose to use neither of them, instead preferring to stand and view the scene in front of her.

 

Like much in this city, the view felt familiar, though she couldn’t imagine how it might be. Her homeland had no great, sprawling cities like this one, and certainly none which rested on the surface of the sea as easily as a fishing boat might float on Lake Hylia.

 

The scene in front of her was of a great stretch of metal and glass towers and smaller buildings reaching out away from the central tower of the city which, off to her left rose like a great obelisk or spire high into the sky, higher than any other man made structure she had ever seen. She could see that the tower which housed her apartment was solidly built on what looked to be a great pier, one of several which radiated out from the center like spokes on a wheel, or the points of a star. Beyond these piers was a vast, and seemingly endless ocean. White and gray feathered seagulls flew over the city and occasionally darted towards the water only to emerge with small fish as their reward.

 

In a brief flash, she saw within her mind’s eye the same city filled with people, on another endless ocean. It felt as though a memory, long buried, and almost as soon as it came to mind, it was gone again.

 

A tear formed in the corner of her eye again, as she tried to retain it without success. The memory seemed important to her, and yet she couldn’t understand why.

 

The ocean was not new to her as the scent of salt filled her nostrils. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. She loved the sea, as infrequently as she was able to visit Hyrule’s own coastlines. The Hyrule she knew from day to day was land-locked.

 

The endless ocean in front of her made her feel small and insignificant next to the power of the waves which she could see and hear crashing against the docks and lower parts of the city. The seagulls flew and played in between the towers of the city, squawking and talking to one another. She wondered what they were saying as she stood at the window. And then she asked a question to herself which almost seemed silly.

 

“Is there no land on this world?” She wondered.

 

She moved back from the balcony into the apartment, and to a dresser where her dress, pink and silver and overlaid with the royal crest of the Hylian monarchy, lay. She wanted to put her dress back on, but it seemed out of place here, and a bit dirty from having to wear it for several days.

 

 _My night clothes_ _a_ _re modest enough_ , she thought, _but it won't do for a Princess of Hyrule to go wandering about in her nightclothes._

 

As she was debating this she saw another set of clothes, neatly folded on a chair next to the door. She picked them up and examined them. It was a plain white, pullover short sleeve shirt, and some kind of blue trousers that reminded her of something some miners she had once met wore because of their sturdiness. A pair of short stockings and hard soled white shoes with sturdy leather and cloth uppers sat on the floor. Underneath the blue trousers was some kind of woven pink cloth with two large holes she guessed was an undergarment meant for her waist and buttocks.

 

 _Someone_ _left these for me_ _last night after_ _I_ _fell asleep._ She realized. _They’re very common, but practical._

 

She looked again at her dress over on the dresser, and then decided that these clothes would be better suited for her task at hand. They looked lighter and more comfortable in the tropical temperatures of this world than her royal dress, and would allow her to blend in a little more easily. Although, she thought as she felt the tips of her ears, it still wouldn't be so easy.

 

She changed from her nightclothes into the Earth clothes which had been left for her. They were slightly big on her, but fit well enough. The low collar of the shirt caught on her ears and she had to carefully tuck them through with her fingers. The shoes were a little loose in comparison with her boots, but serviceable and cooler in this climate.

 

In the last few days she had seen no children in the parts of Atlantis which she had been allowed to see, and she wondered that someone was able to find clothing that could fit her. She was taller than most children her age and race, even in Hyrule, but also quite thin in comparison to these Ordonian peoples. She had not yet reached womanhood yet, that was still a few years away.

 

After dressing, she went back to stand at her balcony door and take in the morning air and think.

 

She had spent all night going over the symbols that were given to her. Three sets of symbols they told her belonged to three different systems of stargates, one they called a “Milky Way” stargate set, another they called a “Pegasus” stargate set, and a third they designated a “Destiny” stargate set.

 

She looked them over carefully for hours walking them back through her mind to all of the ancient runes she had even seen before. None of them looked familiar, no matter how hard she tried to make them fit in her mind. She could see that, at least with the first two sets, they were pictures of star constellations, but even then she didn't recognize the constellations. Although in a few from either she could imagine one or two of Hyrule's star shapes which she had seen during clear skies at night. She had tried to take these and work it through to six symbols but couldn't. In the end, she was no farther than when she started.

 

She missed her father and all the people of her household. There was a cook who would let her sneak strawberry pastries when no one else was looking, although her governess would be horrified if she knew.

 

Her governess, she had been in the carriage with her when she had blacked out and woken up in this place. Was she okay? Were the brave men in her retinue okay? She didn't know, and she worried for them. They would each, even her poor governess, lay down their lives for her, and that knowledge filled her with guilt. They were champions hand-picked by her father, every one of them. She became frightened that them laying down their lives was exactly what had happened.

 

Her stomach grumbled. The sun had risen completely and shone down on the world casting long morning shadows wherever its light touched. She wondered when she would be allowed to break fast. She went to her door and waved her hand over the side panel like she was shown and it slid open. Two women dressed as soldiers were standing outside her door. She didn't know why, but they reminded her of the Sheikah she had seen once in her father's court.

 

On seeing her, one of them touched the funny black device in her ear and said, “Zelda's awake and dressed.”

 

The disembodied voice of Mister Woolsey came through loud enough for Zelda with her Hylian ears to hear although she suspected she wasn't supposed to, “Excellent. Is she wearing the clothes Doctor Keller left for her?”

 

The soldier glanced at her, “yes, sir.” She replied.

 

“Good. Have her wait there. I'll inform Doctor Keller, and send her there.” Mr. Woolsey replied.

 

The woman opened her mouth to speak, but Zelda informed her politely, “I heard, thank you.” The woman nodded surprised.

 

About fifteen minutes later, Doctor Jennifer arrived and stepped into the apartment. Zelda had returned to the balcony view which had so moved her while she waited to watch this new world in front of her with fascination. Besides the seagulls, every once in a while she could see dolphins leap from the water in the distance, or other, larger cetaceans rise just to the surface and blow water in great spouts before they dove beneath once more.

 

Zelda then heard light footsteps on carpet and something more enter the apartment.

 

“Enjoying the view?” Doctor Jennifer asked brightly.

 

“Good morning, Doctor,” Zelda said politely. “It's so different from Hyrule. I’ve always loved the sea, even though I see it so rarely. Our kingdom’s capital is far from the coastline.” Zelda told the doctor, turning to face her.

 

Dr. Jennifer had wheeled a cart with food on it into the apartment and began placing the food on the small table.

 

“You are very kind, Doctor, thank you.” Zelda said.

 

“It's no problem, really. I haven't had breakfast yet either, so I thought maybe we could keep each other company this morning.” The kind woman responded.

 

“I don't just mean with the food,” Zelda smiled and gestured to her clothing, simple as it was, she realized she was thankful for not having to get back into the uncomfortable dress.

 

“Don't worry about,” Doctor Jennifer smiled and waived it off, “We keep a few extra sets of clothes in the medical center just in case. On occasion we have to treat kids as well as adults who come through the gate. It's no big deal, I'm just glad I got the sizes right.” She looked at the clothes which fit just a bit loosely, and then added, “more or less.”

 

When the table was set, they both sat down to eat. In front of Zelda were eggs, ham, some kind of orange juice in a pitcher, a pot of steaming coffee and several flat round pieces of bread which Doctor Jennifer took two and smeared butter and a sweet smelling syrup on. Zelda did likewise, as well as taking some of the eggs and a slice of ham. She then took her fork and taste some of it, and it was heaven. She gave way to her hunger, which was more considerable than she realized, as she ripped into the food in front of her. How long had it been since she had eaten properly? They had fed her here, surely, hadn't they?

 

“It's good to see you've gotten your appetite back.” Doctor Jennifer said with amusement.

 

“I'm sorry,” Zelda said, pulling back a bit, “I don't mean to be rude.”

 

“No, by all means, eat up. That's why I brought it.” She smiled as she watched the girl devour everything in front of her and take more. “I thought it would be better to have breakfast here than the mess hall. There might be more than a few stares there.”

 

“I see.” Zelda replied, wiping her mouth. “I thought your people were used to having visitors who were not from your world.”

 

“Well, we are,” the woman said as she took a bite of eggs. “But you're kind of a different case. Remember Doctor Lee?”

 

Zelda nodded. The funny man who knew almost as much about her as she did.

 

“Well, he's not the only one who knows about you and your world from... other sources.” She told her.

 

Zelda could tell she was trying to be tactful and not say too much. Perhaps that was just as well. Maybe she didn't want to know all of it.

 

“At any rate, Mister Woolsey also thought it would be best.” The doctor then said.

 

“So, no more tours of the city then?” Zelda asked, knowing the answer.

 

“Not at the moment anyways.” She answered apologetically.

 

They both continued eating and Doctor Jennifer poured herself a cup of the coffee. It seemed too warm that day to Zelda to be drinking such things, so she contented herself with the orange juice, which suited her well enough with its sweet yet tart taste.

 

They continued talking for some time after the food was gone. The doctor would ask about Hyrule and her family, and then she would tell her a little of her home in Wisconsin where her father still lived. Zelda learned that there was indeed land on Earth, huge continents which stretched from north to south and many billions of people. Many cities and people of many cultures and languages. It was almost unbelievable to her. Hyrule seemed small and insignificant by comparison, and yet she knew her world was larger than just her kingdom as well. She had been taught by her tutors of other lands and seas, even though she had never seen them. These people had the knowledge and means to explore and cover not only their world, but many others as well. And she had also learned that much of this knowledge was hidden from most of the people of Earth. That part of the conversation seemed a little uncomfortable to the Doctor.

 

“Why would you need to hide these things from your people?” Zelda asked.

 

“Not everyone is ready for these kinds of truths.” The woman responded. “If the whole of Earth knew what we know, it would cause chaos, and we can't let that happen. We have to introduce these things slowly to let people get used to it first.”

 

“So, your people don't know about this city then?” Zelda asked.

 

“No. Most of them don't. Only those who've been given permission to work here, and those higher up in our different governments know about it.” Doctor Jennifer said.

 

“Would knowledge of my existence upset your world?” Zelda asked pointedly.

 

Jennifer looked distinctly uncomfortable at the question as she replied, “Most likely.”

 

“I see.” Zelda said. “So then it would be best for both our worlds that I return as quickly as possible, for many reasons.”

 

“You could put it that way.” The woman said, sipping her drink slowly.

 

“Doctor Keller,” Mr. Woolsey's voice came through her earpiece breaking the silence which had grown.

 

“Yes,” she responded touching it.

 

“Please bring Princess Zelda to the jumper bay, she's going on a little trip.” He responded.

 

“Excuse me? A trip where?” Doctor Jennifer responded.

 

“Her ‘hero’ has arrived at the D’ni cavern site in New Mexico.” Mr. Woolsey said. “He's been asking for her by name. Doctor Jackson is looking after him at the moment.”

 

“My hero?” Zelda asked, taking the doctor by surprise.

 

Doctor Jennifer repeated the question.

 

“Yes, a nice young man armed with a sword and shield and dressed in green who answers to the name of Link. Tell the Princess he's very anxious to see her.” Mister Woolsey replied.

 

“Link?” Zelda wondered out loud as the secret histories of Hyrule which her mother had left for her eyes only rushed into her mind like a flood.

 

 


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5 – Reunions

 

Daniel led Link from where he encountered the scientist to one of the buildings in the city. As he walked behind the white coated Ordonian man he carefully made mental notes of which alleys and avenues he was led down and away from the stairs he had emerged from. No matter in which he looked, he continually felt as if he had seen it before.

 

Except that wasn’t possible. He knew from the other memories which had awakened in his mind that he had lived many, many lifetimes before, and in those lifetimes he had traveled to many fantastic places.

 

But this wasn’t one of them. He knew this for a certainty. And he was just as certain that he recognized this place from somewhere deep in his past. It was not exactly the same, but he had seen it before.

 

The city was enormous, bigger than anything that his conscious memories could conjure up to compare it to. Castle Town had been the largest city in Hyrule for most of that land’s existence. It was home to thousands of people from all across the kingdoms under Hylian rule. But the metropolis around him easily dwarfed the royal capital.

 

In spite of its size, however, the city around him was nearly silent. At first, the boy had thought it was due to the time of night it appeared to be. But even in the dead of night, most towns and villages had some movement and night life. The silence here made this city feel like a tomb, or a ghost town at the very least. It was nearly as silent as the grave, even with the few people that Link did see scurrying about. As Daniel led him deeper into the heart of the city, there were more people, all adults, in white coats, as well as black clad soldiers with weapons patrolling and standing not far from the white coats.

 

Another detail Link realized was that the city was also made entirely of stone, or at least what Link could see of it. Even the doors and hinges were carved from stone, and there was no wood built into anything he could see. What furniture there had been in the ruined library he had portaled into had also been intricately carved from polished stone. He had never seen anything like it. It was as if real wood was a luxury this civilization couldn’t afford to spend on simple building projects.

 

His other memories affirmed this. Even the Gorons' village deep within Death Mountain made use of at least some wood harvested from nearby forest or woods. Those other memories conjured up images of the hidden tunnel between their circular, stone carved village and the enchanted and dangerous forest known by most as the “Lost Woods” deep within Faron province which he suspected had something to do with it.

 

In spite of the heavy use of stonework, the structures and facades of the buildings weren't spartan or austere. Much to the contrary, it was exquisitely carved and shaped so that it flowed like artwork from one building to the next. Even what appeared to be writing which had been carved into doors and what looked like signs made from a deep black, glassy rock was a graceful and flowing cursive.

 

The building Daniel led Link into was a large, two story structure with many rooms which might have been an inn or maybe even some wealthy person’s residence at one time, though as they entered, neither seemed right. Many of the white coats were moving in and out of it with odd looking cases, and boxes with what his memories told him was scientific instrumentation. It did not have the feel of either someone’s personal residence, or the welcome feel of a traveler’s haven. Instead, it felt more like a barracks or base for the white coats and soldiers.

 

Daniel led Link up a broad, grand staircase which curved up into the second floor. In spite of the careful sculpting of the walls, when Link reached the second floor landing, he could see no ceiling to speak of. Instead, where the ceiling and roof should have been, it all opened up to the night sky past the terminus of the walls, which itself was still strangely starless. This was disconcerting to him, as he couldn't make out clouds either.

 

 _Why would they make a building without a roof?_ _What would they do if it rained?_ Link asked himself.

 

Daniel led Link into a room in the building that had several stone chairs, a desk, and some strange equipment scattered about. The man picked up one of these pieces of equipment, a small, black rectangular box, pushed some buttons on it and then spoke into it. Link could hear another voice speaking back to him, and once again, he heard both his own name, and the name “Zelda” mentioned several times.

 

Daniel then motioned for Link to sit down on one of the sculpted stone seats. It was strangely comfortable and seemed to conform to his body as he sat down regardless of the fact it was made of stone.

 

The Ordonian man then took another piece of paper and wrote on it. When he was done, he gave it to Link to look at through his amethyst lens.

 

Link took and read it, “I've talked to my friends, they're going to bring Zelda here. It will take a day or so for her to arrive. I am getting some food for you.”

 

Link nodded. He then motioned for the writing stick and wrote, “Where am I? What city is this? Why are there no stars in the sky here?” And then handed the paper and the Lens to Daniel, who took a seat next to him.

 

Daniel read it, smiled, and then wrote, “This city is deep underground in a big cave. Its people called it ‘D'ni,’ but no one has lived here for two hundred years. We are studying it to learn about them.”

 

Link read the paper carefully, and then wrote, “You and your people don't live here?” He passed it to Daniel.

 

Daniel wrote, “No. I'm only here for a week. The other scientists spend part of the year here, and part of the year living in cities far from here on the surface.”

 

It was then that another man came in with a tray of food for Daniel and Link. It wasn't anything fancy, just some sandwiches, and some bottles of a kind of juice he had never seen before. The man said something to Daniel with a smile, and then left Link and he to their meal.

 

Link consumed his meal with gusto. He hadn't eaten much on the trail between the village in Ordon and the Temple of Time, his stomach had been upset, but now he felt like he was starving. The sandwiches were good. Maybe not as good as Rusl's wife made, but they were good and filling nonetheless.

 

While he was eating, Daniel wrote on the paper again, “How did you get from Hyrule to this city?”

 

Link wiped his hands on his leggings and, with a mouth still full, took the stick and wrote on the paper, “The Sages sent me through a gateway in the Temple of Time. I just appeared in a library below.”

 

Daniel paused, as though the existence of the Library was new information, then wrote, “Who are the Sages? Did they send Zelda to our world?” He passed it back to Link.

 

Link wrote, “No, they don't know where she is. That's why they came looking for me this time instead of waiting for me to start on my own.” Link paused, trying to collect his thoughts. “They awakened the hero before they thought I'd be ready for it. The Sages are the keepers of the temples of Hyrule. They pray and meditate and sing to the gods to keep the seals on the sacred realm so that the Demon King remains imprisoned.”

 

Daniel’s expression then took on a more serious expression as he read, and reread Link’s response considering it carefully. He then wrote on the paper, “Did the Demon King get free?”

 

“No,” Link wrote back, “they said he didn’t. They wouldn't let me take the Master Sword because they didn't want to unbind his spirit.”

 

Daniel looked at the paper, and then became thoughtful for a long time.

 

The Ordonian man then wrote, “Did you see anything strange or unusual down in the library you emerged in?”

 

Link looked at it. The question seemed almost absurd when he thought about it. _Everything down there?_ He almost answered. But then that other book which had stood open like the one which had described his own world came back to his mind.

 

He then wrote, “There was dust everywhere except on one book. It had been standing open, and the window page was clean.”

 

Daniel read it, and then quickly wrote, “Do you know which book?”

 

Link took the paper and then wrote, “Yes. The name on the book was ‘Middle-Earth.’ It was the only book that looked clean like someone had touched it.” Link avoided telling him that the Book of Hyrule was heavy in the satchel he carried.

 

Daniel read the paper several times with the Lens mouthing the words he read, his expression skeptical, as though he was trying to make sure he didn't read it wrong.

 

He then wrote, “It's going to be a while until they can bring Zelda down here. They’ll be coming from another city on the surface that’s very far away. There's a free bed in the room next door if you want to get some sleep. No one here will harm you here, you have my word.”

 

Link had just finished his meal when he read it. It was then he found himself very drowsy. Seeing that the scientist appeared to mean what he wrote, he then nodded and Daniel led him to a bed which had been set up in a separate room on the other side of the wall from the one he had just been in. Link placed his sword and shield by the side of the bed eyeing the soldiers that had taken positions outside the room. He then laid down keeping one eye on the soldiers and one hand on his sword. He continued this way until he couldn't keep his eyes open any longer and fell asleep.

 

Daniel turned down the lamp which had been on and left the room giving instructions to the guards not to disturb him or to take his weapons, and asked them to let him know when the boy woke up.

 

* * *

 

Zelda was zipping through the air faster than she ever imagined she could go in the flying machine that the Earth people called a “puddle-jumper.” The pilot, the soldier named Colonel Shepherd, allowed her to come forward so that she could see out the front window. When they first showed the machine to Zelda she didn't understand how it could ever fly without wings. It didn't look like the right shape at all. It was merely a large, fancy cylinder with a door at one end and a window at the other, she thought. But then the scene out of that window moved so fast her mind could hardly keep pace with what her eyes were telling her. Colonel Shepherd took the machine up so high that the sky turned black and all the stars of this world became visible and she could see the outline of Earth like a beautiful, magical blue and green sphere. She wondered if Hyrule looked like this from up on high. She imagined only her gods knew the answer to that.

 

Zelda still wore the Earth clothes she had been given, leaving her royal dress back in the apartment she had slept in. It was suited for state functions and the appearance of royalty, not for the kinds of things she imagined she would be doing from here on out. They also gave her a jacket, because they told her where she was going could be chilly.

 

Almost as soon as they had gone up, he pointed the nose of the machine back downward and they began their descent to a large land mass, a continent. The region he was descending to was brown and dry and approaching very quickly. It reminded her a great deal of the Gerudo desert where sat the ancient prison called the Arbiter's Grounds, and further in, the Temple of the Desert Goddess. But the Gerudo desert was hot, she was told, and this desert in front of her looked equally warm.

 

“I thought it would be chilly where we were going?” Zelda asked Doctor McKay who had accompanied them. Doctor Jennifer said that she had to stay behind and look after her medical center, and so it was Doctor McKay, Colonel Shepherd, and several armed soldiers who had come to escort her.

 

“Don't worry, we'll only be on the surface for a short time,” Doctor McKay answered, smearing a white ointment onto his face and nose. “Where we are going is under the surface,” he made a motion with his hand of going underneath something.

 

“Under the surface?” She asked as a large, inactive volcano came into view. Through the window she could see a great crack in the sidewall of the volcano that the ship was headed towards.

 

“Yeah, it's another one of our best kept secrets.” Colonel Shepherd added as he began to circle the dormant caldera for a landing site.

 

“What is?” She asked.

 

“It's an ancient city miles underground. The only entrance to it from the surface is near the cleft in the volcano we're landing next to.” Doctor McKay answered.

 

Colonel Shepherd added, “the really bad part about it is that we can't just fly or transport directly to it. We have to walk most of the way down. Once we're down far enough, we've got some ground cars that can give us some better transportation to the outskirts of the cavern where the city is. I've only been there once before. It takes a day or so to make the journey in.”

 

The jumper landed neatly and softly and everyone, including Zelda, was given a backpack with some supplies and a device they called a “flashlight” which produced light at the push of a button. The heat from the desert overwhelmed her when the door was opened. She could feel her fair skin burning under it's fury.

 

“Ok, everyone to the tunnel, let's go!” Colonel Shepherd ordered.

 

The tunnel in question wasn't far from where they landed and as they began filing in it became cooler and cooler the further inward they went. Colonel Shepherd stopped the group at a lit glass office that seemed very out of place against the rock walls. The office was manned by several soldiers carrying more of the strange weapons that all of the earth soldiers carried. After a few minutes, these soldiers waived her group through and they continued through the tunnel which began to gently slope downwards.

 

The walk was long as the slope increased. Zelda had heard of tunnels, and underground cities like this before in Hyrule. The Goron mines she had been going to visit were similar, although she had heard stories of an ancient Goron city which had been somewhere in Hyrule. Electric lamps were hung on the tunnel walls every so often, through she could tell they had not been a part of the original carvings. Every hour or so there were more guard stations which her party had to stop at and identify themselves. After many of these they came to a great open shaft which plunged straight down. The path they were on turned sharply to the left and began to corkscrew around it down towards a bottom which she couldn't see regardless of the lamps.

 

“Do we have to walk all the way down?” Zelda asked.

 

“We used to, but now we get to ride down.” Colonel Shepherd said, pointing to a metal cage which she took for an elevator.

 

“I see. How long does it take to get to the bottom?” She asked.

 

“A couple of hours. The lift can go faster, but it can make you ill if it doesn't do it slow enough.” Doctor McKay answered.

 

Their party entered the lift, closed the door and began their long descent. One of the other men, a soldier sat on the floor of the lift and brought out a pack of cards asking, “anybody up for some cards?” To which several of the other men, including Colonel Shepherd readily agreed. Zelda sat down to watch the game, and after a time, Colonel Shepherd explained the rules.

 

As he explained the rules, he went into the strategy, “It's partly about what cards you have, but it's much more about what cards your opponent thinks you have. You see, I could have nothing at all, but if I can make my opponent think that I've got a much better hand than he does, then he'll give up and I'll take the pot. In the same way, I could have a really great hand, but then I might want him to think that my hand isn't as good as his so he bets more money to get me to bet more money that he'll think I'll lose. It's all about trying to bluff your opponent into thinking what you want him to think.”

 

After a while, they dealt Zelda in, although she didn't have anything to wager. Some of the men generously said they'd cover her bets, assuming that she wouldn't play very well. They needn't have worried. By the time they reached the bottom, Zelda had cleaned them all out and left them shaking their heads and mentioning something about her being a “card shark” and taking her to Vegas. She saw no need for their money so she split it evenly and gave equal amounts back to each man, for which they were grateful.

 

When they reached the bottom and exited the cage she found the air around her much cooler than it had been even in the tunnels far above and she was now grateful for the coat she had been given. The walls of the great shaft were smooth but decorated with some tapestries with designs which she didn't recognize, but felt familiar somehow. There was yet another guard station at the bottom that waived them through to a wheeled carriage of a sort with no horses.

 

“Now we get to ride a little more comfortably,” Colonel Shepherd said.

 

“How does the carriage move without horses?” Zelda asked. It was probably a silly question, she thought afterward. These people had machines which could fly like birds, why couldn't they have carriages that move on their own?

 

“It has a motor which runs on electricity. If it ran on anything else, it could make the air down here go bad. It will take us the rest of the way in to the city.” Doctor McKay said as he climbed in. Zelda and the rest of the party followed suit. Colonel Shepherd sat behind the control wheel, lamps came on in the front of the vehicle, and the carriage very quietly began to move through the tunnels further downward.

 

* * *

 

Link was standing in a strange grove of trees. In front of him was a huge temple which, in spite of its ruins, inspired a sense of majesty and awe in him. It was no place he could remember ever having been, and yet he knew it very well. Beneath him was a stone platform with a symbol carved into it. The symbol of forest, he knew somehow. The air was cool and moist and scented with the perfumes from many flowers and trees. He felt at home here somehow.

 

“I see you've come this far, boy.” A menacing, cold voice said.

 

Link turned around. In front of him was a large, muscled, dark figure with flames for hair and burning eyes. He knew him somehow, and the memory wasn't good.

 

“You won't stop me this time, boy.” The figure taunted.

 

“I will always stop you, no matter how many times you free yourself.” Link found himself saying, much to his surprise.

 

“Not this time. No, things are different now, aren't they?” The figure started walking in a circle slowly around Link. Link remained silent.

 

“Yes, that's right. We're not just talking about our worlds anymore, are we? No, my power has gone far beyond just Hyrule. Even now I am building my armies, but Hyrule isn't enough, and neither you nor the gods of Hyrule can reach me.” The dark figure laughed.

 

Link drew his sword and shield. “I'm here right now.”

 

The figure laughed harder. “Do you really think you can challenge me, boy? Here? No, this is only a dream. I thought we'd have a nice little chat before I'm finally rid of you.” He then added, “besides, that's not the right sword, is it? Oh, it's not a bad toy by any means. Ordonian make, isn't it? But we both know I can shatter it with ease. No, if we're to do this properly, you'll need the right sword, won't you? Go back and tell that goddess serving she-dog that the little hero needs his big-boy sword now. And,” he said on a moment's reflection, “I would suggest a better shield. You won't be fighting spit-balls now will you?” The figure then turned to face him directly. He narrowed his eyes with a menacing glare, “I'm waiting little hero. Come and find me.”

 

Link woke with a start and a cry, sweat glistened on his forehead. It was dark in the room he had been sleeping in. He could hear a voice speaking strange words into the air as he sat up. Daniel's voice answered in reply.

 

It had only been a dream, and yet more than that. The Demon King had been taunting him, but why? He thought back to his memories which had been awakened within him. The Demon King always taunted Link in whatever form he took. He enjoyed taunting him. It was something that Link didn't understand.

 

A few minutes later, Daniel appeared in the doorway. He said something, and then took out a pad of paper and wrote some words. Link wiped the sleep away from his eyes and reached for his Lens to read it. It said, “There's someone here to talk to you.” Link nodded his head, then stood up and pulled on his sword and shield.

 

Daniel led him to another room in the building where a group of men, soldiers, waited, and standing in the middle of them was a blond Hylian girl, about his age but wearing the clothes of this world. Her eyes were the deepest blue he had ever seen. She looked at him and held up the back of her left hand. Link's own hand responded almost involuntarily. He could see the Triforce mark imprinted on her hand and as he drew close to her, one triangle within it glowed, as it did on his hand.

 

Instinctively, Link dropped to one knee, “Your highness.” He addressed her in Hylian.

 

Zelda came closer to him and touched him on the head gently, responding in Hylian, “rise, Sir Link,” and he did as he was bidden.

 

“I am no knight, your highness. Only a few days ago I was just a boy from a village in the province of Ordon...” He started to correct her.

 

“Thus it has always been when it is time for the Hero to arise.” She answered.

 

“I was sent by the sages of Hyrule to find you and return you to our world.” He said.

 

The other people in the room watched in rapt fascination. One of them asked her something in Daniel's language, and she responded in the same language. Link noticed that she seemed to be able to speak it fluently with no trouble at all.

 

“Do you have a way of returning us to Hyrule?” Zelda asked him.

 

“I think so, your highness.” Link nodded. “There is a book I think links to our world. If we put our hands on a panel in it then it will return us to the Temple of Time where the sages are waiting for both of us.”

 

Zelda took this information in thoughtfully. She then asked the same question Daniel did, “Has the Demon King escaped?”

 

Link answered, “I don't know. The sages were convinced that he hadn't. They wouldn't allow me to take the Master Sword for this journey for that reason. But I'm not so sure. I think he might have escaped, but into a different world. It appeared that another book I saw might have been used to link to a different world from either here or Hyrule, but the chamber where the books were kept didn't look like it had been opened for a very long time. Also, he came and taunted me in a dream.”

 

Zelda looked disturbed at this news. She then said, “poker.”

 

“I'm sorry, your highness?” Link responded.

 

“It's a game my new friends taught me on the way down here. In it, you try and make your opponent place a bet or give up by making him think you have or don't have certain cards. The Demon King is trying to play poker with us.” Zelda responded

 

Again, the same man asked Zelda something, and she replied fluently in the strange language. She seemed to be explaining everything they had just said, and then another man spoke up rather happily, and a bit smugly. Zelda nodded at him.

 

“What did he say?” Link asked.

 

“He said we have a card in our possession which the Demon King knows nothing about. It is a jewel that when fixed to a sword should be able to kill the Demon King himself once and for all. It's called a 'sangraal' stone.” Zelda replied.

 

“This 'sangraal' stone can kill an evil god?” Link asked, unbelieving.

 

Zelda then turned and repeated Link's words to the men behind her. The smug man replied, and Zelda translated, “He said, 'killing evil gods is our specialty.'”

 

* * *

 

They made their plans on how to proceed throughout the night cycle of the underground city. Finally, Link and Zelda couldn't remain away from Hyrule much longer, they both knew. Both of their Triforce pieces had to be returned to Hyrule. Any further delay might have devastating consequences. After much discussion and communication with more people through their strange black boxes and devices, it was also agreed that Link and Zelda wouldn't be going alone. Colonel Shepherd and Doctor McKay would be accompanying them to ensure that the Demon King was still safely sealed away. They would also be bringing four other soldiers with them. If things were still under control, then they would simply return home. If they weren’t, then they would support the princess and the hero in using the “god-killer” jewel.

 

Early the next morning, they all held hands as Link placed his own on the window panel of the Book of Hyrule and, as Daniel watched, they all shimmered into a golden light as their energy was drawn into the book and they were gone.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6 – The Cards are Dealt

 

Demise looked through the eyes of his latest host with satisfaction out towards the scene which lay before him. The sky above him was dark with black clouds that rolled and crashed into each other, but never parted. This was a bleak, sunless land where only foul things grew and flourished. The only rivers nearby were those of volcanic rock and lava glowing orange and yellow as they flowed by. Hundreds of years before he came, another like himself once ruled here, but he had been foolish and sloppy. Demise would not make the same mistakes which brought down the one they had called “the Great Eye.”

 

Flames licked the eyes of his host as he surveyed the army on the training field in front of him, far below the ancient tower which he had occupied and rebuilt upon his entrance in this world. They called themselves “Uruks”, their name in the common speech of this world was orcs. These creatures weren't so different from the bokoblins and trolls he used against Hyrule so many times before, but they were stronger and more disciplined, and more importantly, there were tens of thousands of them just waiting for someone strong enough to lead them. Someone like him.

 

Technically, his host was one of them, but taller, more muscular, and far more vicious than any of them. His gray black skin glistened with foul smelling sweat under the leather and iron armor he wore. A massive sword, too large for any Hylian or “human” to wield hung heavy on his back. Jet black hair was tied back in a thick braid. Sharp yellow fangs were visible as thin lips were pulled back in a grin. The only traces of what this creature and his fellow orcs once had been were the ears which ended in a sharp point, but the elf which he had been had died long ago only to be replaced by the orc. The orc warrior was already the leader of his people, the thousands of orcs below him, but he wanted more. He had wanted the human and elf lands beyond his homeland of Mordor. He had built this army long before Demise had invaded his soul and taken control. None of the orc's people had noticed the difference.

 

The sages believed that Demise was still caged by the Master Sword, and in part they were right. Most of his essence was still trapped in the Temple of Time within Hyrule. He would not be able to fully manifest in the physical world, any physical world, until the Sword was removed from the pedestal. But it would only be a matter of time. He was certain of that. He had planned and plotted this for hundreds of years, since the last time his host had been killed and he had been fully caged. He knew it was only a matter of time before he would be able to work part of himself free and take possession of some like-minded soul. It was always just a matter of time. It amazed him that the mortal fools who guarded him didn't seem to understand that, although Hylia in her incarnate form never seemed to forget.

 

It was only by a stroke of fortune that he was able to work his essence free at a time when the doorway was open. It had been a very long time, but he remembered the doorway and that there were other worlds beyond Hyrule. It had been eons, but he remembered where they first came from. He only had to slip through unseen while the fool hero boy hesitated. He didn't bother to listen why the boy had been called there. They would meet eventually. They always did. They always would until he defeated the boy and destroyed his spirit once and for all.

 

That was why he was here, in the world called “Middle-Earth,” in a land called “Mordor.” It changed the rules of the game they played. The boy had held him back for thousands of years, but could never keep him from returning. It was a stalemate of sorts which would continue indefinitely until the rules which governed the game changed. He had finally succeeded in seeing to it that they did.

 

There were Others here in this world. He could feel them, and he knew they could feel him. He was only one, and they were many, yet they kept their distance and left him alone. Typical, he thought, though he considered himself strangely fortunate again that they did so.

 

He could feel the belief of the orcs on the field flow into his being, building his power as they surrendered their will to his own. He savored it as a sweet wine. When he was done with them, their devotion to him would be absolute, and Hyrule would not know what hit it. It only required that the boy and the cursed sages believe that he had escaped and pull the sword from its pedestal. That was only a matter of time, he was convinced of it. A matter of time and patience and his strategy would bear fruit.

 

* * *

 

The return through the portal was instantaneous and met with mixed reactions as Zelda, Link, six strange men and a horse stepped through the gateway. Instantly all the sages began talking at once. The men from Earth were overwhelmed at the sight in front of them. They had never before encountered people as different from themselves as the many races of Hyrule represented there in that holy place outside of time. They proceeded down the steps from the gateway and it closed behind them, sinking down into the floor from where it had emerged.

 

Impa held up her hand and called for quiet, then she said, “you have returned to us successful, young Link.” She then motioned towards the men and said, “and you have brought strangers with you? What is the meaning of this?”

 

Link made to answer her, and then Zelda placed her hand on his arm to stop him, “I can answer that, your grace.” Zelda said, glancing quickly at Link, who seemed somewhat relieved he didn't have to do the talking. The men from earth asked her a question, and she gave a quick explanation in their language. The sages took note of that, and whispered to each other knowingly.

 

Impa raised her eyebrows, and then hastily genuflected, “Of course, my Lady, forgive me.”

 

“There is nothing to forgive, faithful Impa.” Zelda said as she gently touched her shoulder and bid her rise. “These men have come to us from another world, another reality, to help us defeat the Demon King once and for all.”

 

“Forgive me, my Lady,” a large Goron, a mountain of rock in the shape of a man, spoke up, “but that is not possible. You of all people know that. We can only keep him imprisoned, but not even you and all the gods of Hyrule could fully destroy him. The balance, the cycle, must continue and go on.”

 

One of the strange men who seemed to be a leader asked Zelda a question, and she responded. He then said something and she then spoke again, “Colonel Shepherd here is the leader of these men. He comes from a world called Earth, where I was transported to. He and his men have brought the means to the Demon King's final destruction.” Turning to the Goron, she said, “You are right, your grace, that all the good powers of Hyrule could not, nor ever can, defeat the Demon King. He was too powerful for that in the beginning, and with his attachment to the Triforce of Power it became an impossibility for any of us.” Then she turned to address the rest of the sages around her, “It is my belief this is why the gods took me to Earth.”

 

The sages were quiet as she spoke. She stood tall and regal for a ten year old, and her voice betrayed an authority which went beyond royalty. “Earth, Terra in a language so ancient that we have forgotten what it even sounded like. I remember it as the world we all first came from eons before. Din, Nayru, Farore, Demise, and the others of us who first traveled here to transform this world into a garden paradise where we could be at peace, before we ascended and became this world's protectors, and before Demise and his followers betrayed all of us. I still don't know for certain which of my sisters brought me there, although I have my suspicions. She took me there to find an end to this unending cycle which continues to destroy our world, leaves our survival on a razor's edge, and keeps our people from progressing in wisdom and understanding. And there I found these good people who have been untouched by the cycle of legend.”

 

“These people have fought many like him,” She continued, “If the cycle was only influenced by our world then it would continue indefinitely. But the Demon King has altered that balance. At least part of his essence has escaped into another world. His ambitions no longer lie with just Hyrule. Many worlds are now threatened, including the world of these men. Colonel Shepherd bids me tell you that they will help bring him down.”

 

“How is this possible, my Lady?” Another sage, a small girl with green hair but ancient eyes spoke up.

 

“They have a jewel that, when fixed to the Master Sword, will destroy any demon or god the Sword strikes, permanently.” Zelda replied.

 

The sages all began talking at once again.

 

* * *

 

It was the weirdest experience of Colonel Shepherd's life. This was saying a lot. He had experienced a lot of truly strange things in his years with the Atlantis expedition. Nothing, however, had prepared him to step inside what was essentially a video game come to life. He stood there as stoically as he could taking it all in. McKay stood next to him fidgeting. The other men kept their weapons ready though Shepherd didn't think it would do any good with this particular group.

 

He wanted to interrupt and talk to these people directly, but he found himself spellbound by the voice and bearing of the young girl in front of him which went far beyond her one decade of life, or his many decades. Her voice exuded a power which he didn't dare interfere with. It was commanding, yet soothing, regal yet practical. He listened to Zelda talk, and talk, and talk some more, and then the whole place went into an uproar again.

 

“Uh, what's going on?” He asked Zelda when she had stopped talking.

 

“The sages are debating about whether what you have claimed could even be possible, or advisable.” Zelda responded.

 

“Why wouldn't it be advisable?” Shepherd asked.

 

“The legend of Zelda has continued in the same way for many thousands of years. They don't know what will happen if the cycle is broken for good.” She told him.

 

“Is there any way I can talk to them directly? Any magic or something you can do?” He asked her.

 

Zelda thought about it, trying to remember something. She then placed her palm on his head and closed her eyes in concentration. She mouthed some words, but he couldn't make them out.

 

Shepherd became light headed, and then he began hearing intelligible words from the myriad of beings around him.

 

“No, it's not possible! … It must be a trick! … Demise wants us to release him again!” He heard this coming from different directions. “How can it be a trick?” Others were saying, “This has never happened before.” Still others were saying, “The princess spoke with the voice of Hylia and you dare to speak against her wishes?”

 

“Hey!” He shouted. All went quiet very quickly. “That's better.” He said.

 

Impa stared at him intently, not sure what to make of this young man. “Do you have something to add?” She asked.

 

“Look,” he began, “we didn't come here to trick you or cause trouble.” He said. “We know your story, some of it anyway, in our world. Don't ask me how, it would take too long to explain, and I'm not even sure I understand it myself. We know this guy keeps coming back, and we know it ruins your world every time it happens. We came here to help you put an end to it. Now, our guys have come up with a weapon we've used against bad guys just like your Demon King before, and they're all dead now and it didn't cause anyone's world to end. Now, we want to work with you on this, we really do. But this guy's threatening Earth, so he's no longer just your problem, but he's our problem now as well. We're going to take him down one way or the other, whether you help us or not.”

 

He finished speaking, and there was silence in the chamber for some time.

 

“Very well, stranger.” Impa finally broke the silence. “But the Hero must be the one to wield the sword. The sword will recognize no other. No one else will be able to handle it. The Hero must deliver the death blow, you cannot interfere. Do you understand this?”

 

“He's a just a ten year old kid.” Shepherd responded. Link, who had been silent this entire time, glared at Shepherd, who then added, “A brave ten year old kid, don't get me wrong.”

 

“So he has been many times before, so he may be again if your jewel does not work.” Impa replied. “He was chosen by Farore herself, and holds the Triforce of Courage within him. Only he can deliver the fatal blow.”

 

“Your graces,” Zelda began again, “In order for this to work, we must draw the Master Sword and mount the jewel to it. We may not have much time left.”

 

“Time is a luxury we can afford in this place, my Lady.” Impa responded. “There is still much for us to discuss and to plan. We cannot decide this in haste.”

 

“What does she mean?” Shepherd asked in a whisper..

 

“The Temple of Time sits outside of normal time.” Zelda replied, “All the sages you see gathered here are all the sages of Hyrule past and present. Time does not pass in this place, this is why the Master Sword is kept here even when the Temple is in ruins in normal time.” She said. “They will take as long of a time as they need because no time passes for them or us in our normal times while we are here.”

 

“So we're going to be here for a while?” Shepherd asked.

 

“Yes.” Zelda responded.

 

Doctor McKay who had been unusually silent this whole time turned to Shepherd and asked, “what's going on now?” Shepherd then did his best to explain everything he had just been told. “So what, we're in some kind of a time dilation field?” Shepherd shrugged his shoulders and mouthed “I don't know, Rodney.” McKay ignored it, “but time dilation wouldn't explain all of it, hmm.”

 

The talking amongst the sages went on and the party of six from Earth, tired of standing found places to sit either on benches or up against walls. Zelda remained standing among the sages as she listened intently to all the conversations and debate which was happening at once. Link led Epona over to a corner of the chamber away from the loud voices which were beginning to upset her. Shepherd went to talk to him.

 

“Hey, no hard feelings about what I said earlier, I hope.” Shepherd said to him.

 

“No.” Link responded. “You were right... and wrong.” He said as he stroked Epona thoughtfully.

 

“What do you mean?” Shepherd asked.

 

“I am just a ten year old boy, but I have the memories of many lifetimes. It's not just memories. I can feel having been places and done things... I've never been outside of my village until recently, and yet I know that I've fought armies almost single handed, I've explored ancient temples, and fought creatures you would only see in your worst nightmares. I've never used the sword I carry in actual fighting, but my arms and muscles remember using swords like it against hundreds of enemies, all trying to kill me. I've never seen the Demon King's face, and yet I can see it clearly, every incarnation of it, in my mind's eye.” Link told him. There was a haunted look in his eyes.

 

Shepherd was silent for a minute, then he said sympathetically, “wow, it must be tough.”

 

Link nodded. “I didn't choose this, it was chosen for me. It is always chosen for me.”

 

“Well, maybe we can make so so you don't get chosen again. I mean so no one else gets chosen like this again. You know what I mean.” Shepherd responded.

 

Link nodded again.

 

“Colonel Shepherd?” Zelda called to him. The debating and loud voices had ceased.

 

He left Link to his horse and went back over to where the sages and Zelda stood. The look on Zelda's face was pensive at best. He really didn't like that look. It had bad news written all over it.

 

“We have debated the matter thoroughly, Colonel Shepherd. We cannot allow the Hero to draw the Master Sword yet.” Impa told him.

 

“So what does that mean? Not yet?” He asked.

 

“It took a great deal of power to send the Hero to your world, and we are still not recovered from that. We no longer have the power to open the gateway back to your world to be able to reach wherever he has gone to. If what you say is true, the Demon King is not in Hyrule, and he is not at full strength. If we keep the Master Sword in place here, he may not regain strength enough to be a threat for several years. When that time comes, then we will consider your plan. As for you and your people, we are sorry, we cannot yet send you home.” Impa told him.

 

Shepherd took a minute to take in what she just said, and then responded with “what?!”

 

“We will eventually be able to open to gateway again and return you home, but it may take years. Travel through time, even suspending time, takes relatively very little power, so you see the Temple around us. Travel to other realities is another matter entirely. It is an enormous drain on us. We will return all of you to the time this Hero and the Princess are from. We will contact you when we are able to do more.”

 

McKay asked what was going on, and Shepherd told him. His response was less than pleasant. The four soldiers who came with them weren't pleased either.

 

 


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7 – The Demon King Moves His Pieces

 

“My Lord, Osgiliath has fallen!” The soldier in front of the King blurted out out as soon as he reached earshot.

 

“What was that?” The king asked him to repeat himself. He thought he was mistaken in what he had heard.

 

“My Lord Eldarion, Osgiliath has fallen.” The soldier repeated as he fell to one knee. The throne room went dead silent as the soldier repeated himself.

 

They were words he never thought he'd hear in his lifetime. They were words from the time of his father's father, the man who restored the kingship to Gondor and Arnor.

 

“How?” He asked.

 

“Orcs.” The soldier spat the word. “Orcs poured into the city. We had no warning. It was like they just appeared as if by magic. Thousands of orcs just materialized out of thin air it seemed.”

 

“Orcs?” The king asked in unbelief. Orcs hadn't been seen in Gondor since the time of his father's father.

 

“I am certain of it. These were savage, evil creatures. If they did not match the descriptions of the ancient goblins then I do not know what would.” The soldier responded.

 

“And the people?” The king feared the answer.

 

“Few of us escaped alive. I led the survivors to Minas Tirith as quickly as I could.” He remained on one knee.

 

King Eldarion rose from his white throne. “Tend to the survivors. See that they have whatever they need.” He instructed his advisers who immediately hurried out of the throne room shouting instructions to their own underlings. “Light the beacons,” the king ordered. It was an order he never thought he'd have to give in his lifetime. “Call our armies at once.” So now we face the nightmares of our ancestors, he thought. “I should wish for their heroes to arise as well.” he said under his breath to himself. Human enemies they understood and could subdue, he thought, they had skirmishes with the men of the south more and more frequently. But no human being now living could remember the orcs as anything more than something to frighten children with. Children's stories or no, he thought, he remembered the histories he was taught. He only hoped he would prove himself to be forged of the same stuff as his ancestors.

 

* * *

 

These people proved even riper for conquest than Demise had thought. His orc host stalked through its ruins, the stones now stained with human blood. It took very little effort and a paltry bit of magic to storm their peaceful little river city. Why they had kept no standing army this close to their ancient enemies was beyond him. It only demonstrated their weakness, and weakness was something which he despised.

 

Why hadn't the orcs moved before now on their own? He wondered. Of course he knew the answer, they fought amongst themselves too much. He had needed put a swift end to it shortly after he had arrived if he was to make them useful to him. These orcs would be nothing like the humans of this world had faced before. Strong, disciplined, focused, and organized; yes, he had trained them well.

 

He was much stronger now than he had been in a long, long time. His power trickled to him slowly through the time and space which separated him from his cage. The “good” powers of Hyrule hadn't taken his bait as he had hoped, but the Master Sword would soon no longer matter. First, he would give these orcs what they desired, this world. And with this world, he would grow even stronger and would be able to send his armies through the gateways back to Hyrule, and then to Terra. Neither the sages, nor the Others, nor the cursed boy would be able to do anything about it. He chuckled to himself. He would look forward to their next encounter, their last encounter, with relish. His host licked his lips and fangs at the thought of it.

 

In the distance, he could see the outline of the white tower carved into the hillside. He had been certain it would be more difficult than this little excursion. In the six years he had been here he learned this land's history. An assault on Minas Tirith was a difficult proposition at best, or at least had been for the last occupant of the Dark Tower. Demise had learned to be far more patient, and far less reckless. He would let the fear which his magic brought upon this place do its work. Sauron, the last master of Mordor, had been a fool and a weakling, he thought. He moved too fast and let his personal feelings of vengeance get in the way. He wanted it too quickly. Demise had learned the sweet rewards of waiting for the opportune moment. Sauron had fallen prey to his fear. Demise had no such weakness. When Demise would take the field of battle against the white tower, it would be over quickly. He would see to it.

 

* * *

 

The sun was already risen and climbing the sky quickly when Link woke up in his room in Hyrule Castle. He knew he would probably receive another lecture about sleeping in too late from someone, probably Zelda.

 

His room was a far cry from his small tree house. in the Ordonian village. It was large, warm, comfortable, and well kept. The room was lined with bookcases, and decorated with various weapons, pieces of armor, strange objects, and books. They were all trophies of the Hero, he knew. He remembered when each and every one of them had been acquired whether or not he had been actually present to acquire them, at least in this lifetime.

 

His room was next to the Princess' private chambers in the most well guarded part of the castle's keep. Strictly speaking, it wasn't “his” room. It was the room which had been traditionally set aside for the chosen Hero. As such, it had been sealed and unused for a very long time prior to his arrival at the castle. In point of fact it wouldn't unseal itself for anyone else. Many had tried to enter it, and none had succeeded. Link only needed to touch the handle of the door and it swung gently open for him as though a servant welcoming his master home from a long trip. And Link had immediately felt at home as well. He knew he belonged in this room, among these artifacts as though he was one of them; a relic from a time in the distant past.

 

He got out of bed and went to the mirror of the vanity which had been set into the wall of a corner of the room. There was a washbasin with fresh water scented with rose petals on the counter in front of it and he splashed some of it on his face to wake himself up even more. Mornings were always the hardest, especially when there was little for him to do that day, and today was the end of the week.

 

He inspected his sixteen year old appearance in the mirror. Time, training, and what adventure he was allowed had been somewhat kind to him over the last six years, but not overly so. His body was muscular, but not overly so. His hands were hard and calloused from swordplay and shield training. He still retained the look of youth about his face, but no one could say he looked childish. His blue eyes said too much about him for anyone to think that.

 

He dressed in a clean green tunic, chain mail, and gauntlets and went to find Colonel Shepherd. If Link was lucky, he would be in the mood for sparring today. It would give him an excuse to avoid Doctor McKay.

 

Over the last six years, much to his credit, Doctor McKay had never given up trying to find a quicker way back to his world. He learned the Hylian language quickly and searched every book he could get his hands on for some clue. Link didn't often understand half of what McKay talked about, but soon found himself as the good doctor's chaperone to every far flung ancient ruin Hyrule had to offer. At first, Colonel Shepherd and his men would go with them, but as weeks turned into months, and months into years, and the list of sites he wanted to check grew it was increasingly just Link and McKay.

 

At first, Link didn't mind helping him too much, it gave him an excuse to put his dormant skills to good use against the creatures which lurked in such places. But McKay would talk so much, mostly about how much he knew and others didn't, that Link looked forward to it less and less. But he was one of the few people who knew where such sites were to be found, and how to navigate them safely. Over the course of six years though, the number of sites left to search was dwindling rapidly. He and McKay had criss-crossed Hyrule and its outlying islands so many times in the last few years that many people in the towns and villages knew them at first glance. They never found what McKay seemed to be looking for, and that made the doctor even more determined to check another temple, another ruin, another mine somewhere.

 

Link descended out into the sunlight of the courtyard and crossed over to the training grounds for the palace guard. This was usually where a person would find Colonel Shepherd. In the years they had been in Hyrule, Princess Zelda had set the good colonel and his men over the training of her palace guard and the training of Hyrule's armies in general. As with most of her decisions, it had been a wise one. It had given them a task to focus on, and it had produced a disciplined, well trained, professional military for Hyrule the likes of which Link couldn't remember from any of his past lifetimes. Shepherd instilled in them the principles of honor, duty, and one of his most sacred rules of never leaving one of their own people behind. This army of Hyrule would have stood up to Ganondorf's forces and probably defeated them instead of running like cowards.

 

He found Shepherd consulting a map with the generals of Hyrule's forces surrounding him. What was that about? Link wondered as he drew closer.

 

“The bokoblin raids on the outlying villages have been getting worse.” He heard one of the generals say; Sir William if he heard right. “We need to send reinforcements to the border towns.”

 

“What we need to do is put an end to the bokoblins once and for all.” He could hear another of the generals, Sir Portant, remark.

 

“What's going on?” Link interrupted.

 

“Ah, Link, we were just discussing troop deployments. It seems that our bokoblin friends aren't living up to their terms of the treaty the princess signed with them.” Sir Williams responded.

 

Shepherd had been quietly studying the map. Link glanced at it. On it were places marked with a red “X” along the border with Bokoblin territory. There were a lot of red “X” s.

 

“Link, have a seat.” Shepherd told him without looking up from the map. He turned the map around so that Link could see it clearly and then told him, “each of these red “X”s is a point where there's been a bokoblin attack on a town or settlement in the last week. Does this mean anything to you? You see any kind of a pattern?”

 

Link studied the map more carefully. Bokoblin Territory began past the ancient Arbiter's grounds on the outer edge of Lanayru Province. It was a place he didn't like to remember. That was all desert. In much older times it was... He saw the pattern in it.

 

“They're rising up in what used to be called the Gerudo Desert centuries ago, way out on the edge of Lanayru.” Link said.

 

“And what does that mean?” Shepherd asked.

 

“The Gerudo desert is where Ganondorf came from.” Link responded. The generals took a step back, frowns creasing their faces.

 

“Ganondorf.” Shepherd said. “He was the Demon King's last host, wasn't he?”

 

“It's a hated name.” Sir Williams spat on the ground.

 

“I can see that.” Shepherd retorted. “So what does that mean? The bokoblins are throwing him a party for old times' sake or what?”

 

“No.” Link said. His mind was racing. It had happened before. The monsters would start becoming more frequent. Hyrule would come under siege. “It means the cycle is beginning in earnest again.”

 

Shepherd sat back to take in what he had just heard. “Are you sure?”

 

“Yes.” Link said.

 

“Something's wrong. Why haven't the sages gotten a hold of us yet?” Shepherd asked.

 

“I don't know.” Link responded.

 

“What are you talking about?” Sir Portant asked in total confusion. “What cycle? What's happening?”

 

* * *

 

Rodney McKay was staring intently at a chalkboard in his laboratory. It wasn't unusual for him to do this. Princess Zelda had often come into this part of the castle she had set aside for him to find him as still as a statue muttering strange things to himself, his eyes flittering over the symbols written out. On occasion he would erase some and add others. Today, as she found him once again, he barely seemed alive as he stared.

 

“Doctor McKay?” She asked.

 

“Yes, just a minute, I'm thinking.” He responded with annoyance. She had mercifully enabled he and the four other soldiers, Johnson, Davidson, Billings, and Samuels to understand the Hylian speech in the same way she did for Colonel Shepherd several years before.

 

This was a game of sorts she played with him, “and what are you thinking?” She asked him.

 

“I'm trying to make the power requirements work to get us home.” He told her without taking his eyes off the board. It wasn't the first time he had told her this.

 

“I see. Have you made any progress yet?” She asked, also part of the game.

 

“No.” He responded in defeat. “I still don't have the slightest idea how the sages make the stargate work without a visible power source to begin with, and they never bothered to explain it to me. If they're something like priors then... I still don't know how they make it work.”

 

He turned to face her. She had grown into a stunning young woman, tall and regal, yet lithe and athletic of build. She always had a serene expression on her face, and Doctor McKay could never seem to annoy her like he did with most people. She usually wore a bemused smile on her face when she talked with him.

 

“What of your latest excursion with Link, did you find what you were seeking?” She asked.

 

“No.” He responded. “It has to be in Hyrule somewhere. From everything I've read of the D'ni, they never linked to a new world without taking a linking book with them to return home. They were ridiculously cautious and thorough. If the ancestors of the Hylians came from D'ni, then they would have had to have left one somewhere in Hyrule.” It was the same thing he had said before many times. He only repeated it out of frustration.

 

“Is there anywhere else in Hyrule, any other ancient site which would possibly go back to the earliest times? Somewhere we haven't checked or been able to check?” McKay asked, hoping.

 

“Many of the most ancient places have been infested by dark creatures time and again. It is possible that the book of which you speak was destroyed during one of those times.” She had said this before too, although there was a nagging voice in the back of her mind which said that it hadn't, and that the book was quite safe.

 

“Is there anywhere else?” He asked again.

 

“There is only one other place I can think of, and it's really only a legend. You would have to ask Link as to how to even get there if it exists.” She said, the nagging voice telling her that it did indeed exist.

 

McKay had heard this part of the conversation before as well. “And where is that?” He asked.

 

“It is an ancient city built in the sky. Legend says that it was inhabited by the ancient Hylians many thousands of years ago. If you have searched everywhere on the surface of our world, then there is only one other place you can look.” She told him.

 

“A city in the sky? We'd have to be able to see something that size from the ground wouldn't we?” He asked, disbelieving. It wasn't the idea of a city in the sky that he didn't believe, he'd read the reports of things like that from Stargate Command. In fact, that seemed entirely believable. It was that something like that could have remained hidden from the ground he had a difficult time with.

 

“As I said, it is a legend. The cycle of the Triforce has caused us to lose much of our learning and history over the many ages. What little we have been able to preserve of what is known is kept in the Castle's library, as you know.” She said. She then asked, “have you been able to use any of our magical knowledge in your studies?”

 

McKay smirked, and then uncharacteristically bit back a rude comment. Zelda reminded him somewhat of Jennifer Keller, and that tended to make him behave a little better around her.

 

“To be honest, I haven't tried.” He said.

 

“I see. Why?” She asked.

 

“I'm a man of science. Hard facts and information. Magic has nothing to do with that.” He responded.

 

“And yet since you've been in Hyrule, have you seen no evidence of the reality of the power of our magic?” She argued.

 

He pursed his lips and said nothing.

 

She continued, “It has been magic, and not your science, which we have relied on, and been grieved by, for most of our history, Doctor. There are powerful forces in our world which you haven't even tried to understand.” She then looked deeply into his eyes. “You're afraid of it.” She pronounced quietly.

 

“I'm sorry, what? No... I'm not afraid of some hocus pocus witchcraft. I just don't believe in it.” He responded defensively.

 

“It's something your science can't explain, so you try and pretend it doesn't exist. This isn't wise, Doctor McKay, and it won't help you find the answers you've been seeking.” She said. “You are no longer on Earth. The rules of our world are quite different than the rules of yours. There's no way to win a game if you don't bother to understand the rules by which it is played. Consider this in your calculations.”

 

She left McKay to his chalkboard to puzzle over what she had said. It wasn't the first time she had said it. She hoped, though, that it would finally sink in, for all their sakes.

 


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8 – Things Get Serious

 

When they had first been stranded, Shepherd had told himself and his men that he'd been in this situation before and that it wouldn't go on forever. He'd been stuck in the sanctuary with a cloister of wanna-be ancients for six months and it all worked out. He felt confident at the time that they wouldn't have to remain stuck for long; that McKay would pull something out of his hat like he always did and find a way to open the stargate and get them home again in short order. After six years, his faith in his friend was beginning to be strained.

 

When they, Zelda, and Link realized that it would be longer than they had planned on, Zelda offered them all jobs in the castle. That was after they had accompanied Link in scouring every ancient site they could find, and more than a few that were off the beaten trail. It was Zelda's idea to involve them in Hyrule's military affairs, not his, but he didn't complain when she did. It was only supposed to be temporary. That was six months after they arrived, and by that point in time he was happy for the diversion. At first, he was just helping train their troops and bring them up to snuff. As things wore on, however, it was clear that Hyrule's generals had no idea what they were doing, and Zelda then gave him command over all of her armed forces, with Davidson, Johnson, and the other two acting as his lieutenants to continue training and schooling them. It was a position that traditionally went to the Hero, she said, but Link had no objections and it kept Shepherd busy. His uniform may have changed to something a bit more medieval (the breastplate of his armor often chafed), but his duties really hadn't.

 

He looked at the men training in front of him as he passed by and nodded with approval. When they arrived, he wouldn't have trusted the Hylian soldiers with guarding a toilet. Now, he would put them up against anyone. They just needed proper teaching and discipline. If he had to lead these men into battle against Demise, Ganondorf, or any Ori army, he knew they wouldn't let him down. He stopped to watch one of them practice with the new rifles McKay and some other of Zelda's court alchemists came up with. It may not have been strictly by the book to introduce a little industrial technology to this place, but given their history he didn't want to be caught unprepared, and Zelda agreed. They weren't P-90s, and they were only single shot, but they would give Hyrule the distinct advantage over swords and bows. Aside from the rifles, they had also developed cannons, steam engines, and a few other goodies. They had tried developing some basic aircraft as well that ran on alcohol distilled from local grains. They weren't fully ready yet. Still, if this was going to be their final battle, he wanted it as heavily in their favor as possible.

 

He left the training area with Link and headed to McKay's lab. He liked the sixteen year old kid that walked next to him. Heck, he even thought of him as the kid brother he never had. Sure, he was a little undisciplined, even a little lazy at times, but when it really mattered, there were few other people he had known that he could really count on when everything hit the fan. He learned that on their first excursion to some temple in an old forest where Link remembered there might have been a library. Link saved his bacon from some undead skeleton warriors more times than he could count that day. The kid instinctively knew what they were up against and didn't hesitate. He had only been ten years old then. He only got better after that. Shepherd was pretty certain that he could have given his friend Ronan a run for his money, even then, and that was saying something. He wasn't sure who he would place bets on in that contest.

 

Ronan, Teyla, Jennifer, even Woolsey... He wondered what they were doing. It had been six years. No one had encountered any additional search teams from Earth, which was unusual, although a part of him was glad they hadn't tried to send anyone else through the book. That way no one else was trapped here with them. Although, another part of him was peeved that they hadn't sent anyone else through looking for them. What happened to “we don't leave our people behind”? He thought on occasion.

 

They entered Rodney's lab and found him staring at a chalkboard... again.

 

“We need to talk.” Shepherd told him.

 

“Yes, we do.” McKay turned as looked at both of them, then addressed Link, “Do you know anything about a city in the sky?”

 

Link thought a moment, then said, “yes. Although I don't know how we'd get there now. The past life time I was there involved a huge cannon and a rough landing.” He said. “There are portals that can take you to parts of it, but it would be a time consuming search.”

 

Shepherd jumped in, “a search we don't have time for right now, Rodney.” the frustration was building in his voice.

 

“What? Why?” McKay asked innocently.

 

“The Demon King is rising.” Link told him ominously.

 

“What? That's not possible, the sages would have called us back, wouldn't they have?” McKay asked.

 

“I don't know, but we're going to find out. Pack your gear, bring the sangraal jewel. I'm going to round up Davidson, Johnson, Billings, and Samuels. We're heading out for the Temple of Time tomorrow morning.”

 

* * *

 

Zelda hadn't offered to go with them. She knew it would be more prudent for her to remain. The Demon King was still out of Hyrule as far as they knew, so she and her part of the Triforce would be safe. She had offered them a larger contingent of soldiers to escort them, but Shepherd turned her down. “We need to travel light and fast,” he had said.

 

She hadn't expected anything different. They were dressed, mostly, in the gear which they had brought into Hyrule with a few, distinctly Hylian additions. Each of them now carried a shield and sword with which they had all become proficient in their time there, with the exception of McKay who devoted himself to his research. In addition to their flak jackets and body armor, they wore light metal breastplates emblazoned with the Hylian crest and chain-mail as well. The princess lent them all horses with the exception of Link who always rode on Epona, who had grown into a magnificent mare, faster and stronger than any other horse in Hyrule. With her permission, Shepherd had turned over his command to Sir Williams. He was the most competent of any of the Hylians Shepherd had trained. He was confident they would be in good hands from then on, whatever happened, he didn't think he would be returning.

 

The journey the next morning was thankfully uneventful. The bokoblins hadn't made it that far into Hyrule's territory. They reached the edge of the Faron woods by nightfall and had to make camp. It still wasn't wise to travel in the woods at night if they could help it, and the horses were tired. Samuels agreed to take the first watch while the rest of them bedded down for the night.

After midnight, Link was woken for his turn to stand watch. He did it without grumbling, but he always had a difficult time waking up. He sat up and tended the fire while Johnson, who had taken over after Samuels, laid down to get some sleep.

 

He began thinking of his mother, Saria. He wondered what she would think of the kind of man he had become. Did she know what was in store for him? Would she have been proud of him? He gazed into the embers of the fire.

 

Off to his left there was a motion. His senses honed in on it even as he stayed perfectly still. The leaves rustled high in the branches as a gentle breeze moved through them. He relaxed a little. The breeze moved through the trees and then turned to move past him and around him. It felt warm and friendly, it reminded him even more of Saria. The breeze brushed past his face as though it was caressing his cheek lovingly.

 

“Link...” He heard his name in the breeze. He looked around him. All the other men were sound asleep. “Link...” the voice said again. It sounded like a woman's voice.

 

“Who are you?” He said, looking around the camp, and into the trees. “Show yourself.”

 

There was a gentle laughter, and the breeze around him moved and danced through the trees and picked up green leaves as it did so, then blew through and across the campfire and began to materialize with a greenish glowing smoke or mist. It took the shape of a woman with long hair, and kind eyes. He knew the face it was forming.

 

“Mother?” He asked.

 

She laughed lightly and reached out a misty hand to caress his face again. “Oh, my sweet, brave Link. Look at the man you've become. I'm so proud of you.”

 

“Mother, what happened to you? Are you a ghost?” He asked.

 

“No, young one. I am far more than that. I have always watched over you, since the first time I chose you as my champion. I am no less proud of you today than I was then, so many eons ago.” She said.

 

“I don't understand.” He said, tears were forming in his eyes.

 

“Don't you? Many say my sisters and I left this world after we created it. But how could we do that? How could we leave you knowing what lay against you?” She said.

 

“Farore.” Link said with awe. The ghostly green woman nodded.

 

“And I have been watching over you for all of your life, even after my mortal form fell ill. Oh, it was necessary, my brave son. You wouldn't have grown to the man you are now if I hadn't.” She said.

 

“Why didn't you tell me?” He asked, angry and hurt.

 

“It would have been complicated, my son.” She answered. “Your greatest challenge lies ahead of you, and it will take you beyond Hyrule, and beyond even Terra where these good people are from. This is the final battle, my son, and not even I can tell you how it will turn out. Up until now, the fate of Hyrule was balanced on the edge of a knife. Now, it must fall to one side or the other. It is up to you, and only you, to ensure that our world, and every world, is not destroyed. This is why you were born, my son.”

 

“Do you know where the book Doctor McKay has been searching for is?” Link asked. He was amazed he had the presence of mind to remember it.

 

“It is where it has always been since the first days of Hyrule, where time and the elements cannot harm it. It will be your way back to Terra. Now you must rest, there are more challenges yet to come for you and your friends tomorrow. I love you, my Link.” And with that, the leaves scattered, and the breeze traveled off.

 

“Good-bye, mother.” Link said softly.

 

* * *

 

Link kept his experience to himself for the better part of the morning as they traveled through the forest towards the bridges which had been built to reach the sacred grove. Link was often silent on the journeys they had been with him. It was nothing new. The forest was cool, and quiet except for the occasional birdsong. A light breeze carried the smell of the trees across their path.

 

They reached the bridges by midday and began their long, treacherous descent into the grove. They didn't have Impa to guide them this time, but Link remembered the way through the grove. His one worry was the skull-kid. He had caused Link quite a bit of trouble in the past with his games. It never seemed to occur to the skull-kid that Link might have something better to do than to play with him. They reached the caves and tunnels which were the entrance to the grove, and all was quiet.

 

“It's too quiet here.” Link remarked, speaking for the first time in hours.

 

“What do you mean?” Shepherd asked.

 

“There should be music.” Link responded.

 

“Music?” Johnson asked. “Why would there be music?”

 

“The skull-kid likes to play games.” Link said as he sat up on Epona and scanned the scene around him, listening intently. “He'll lead you through the tunnels if you follow his pipe and find him. He'll also try to kill you with his puppets.”

 

“Who's the skull-kid?” McKay asked.

 

“He's the guardian of the grove. He's here to ensure no one enters who's not supposed to. He gets bored and wants to play.” Link said as he looked carefully around him. It was too quiet. No wind. No birds.

 

“Deadly puppets, huh?” Samuels piped up. “And I thought I'd seen everything since coming here. There's always something weird to watch out for.”

 

No music. No lantern tempting him through the tunnels. What was happening? This wasn't like the skull-kid. “Something's wrong. The skull-kid is supposed to be guarding the grove, but he's not here.” Link pronounced. “We need to keep moving.”

 

“Can you find your way without him?” Shepherd asked.

 

Link nodded.

 

They continued on. Link led them through door-like tunnel after door-like tunnel. The horses became jittery. The only sound they heard was the horses' hooves striking stone. Their senses were on edge as they strained to see or hear anything, any movement, any signs of life. Nothing was forthcoming.

 

As they passed through yet another tunnel, it opened onto a ruined courtyard where grass grew. In the center of the walled courtyard was a pedestal where something seemed to be draped over it. Link nudged Epona closer to inspect the sight.

 

“What is it?” Samuels asked.

 

It was a small body that had been smashed and broken like an old rag doll. At the base of the pedestal there lay a flute which had been broken in two. Link couldn't tell how long he'd been dead, but it had been at least a few days.

 

“It's the skull-kid.” Link told them.

 

“What does that mean?” Samuels asked.

 

“It means we need to get to the temple, right now.” Shepherd responded.

 

They all dismounted and left the horses to graze on the grass. Other than the skull-kid's lifeless form, there didn't appear to be any more immediate danger to them, and they didn't want to have to announce their presence by climbing steps with the horseshoes. They slid silently off their horses and Shepherd and the four soldiers unstrapped their P-90 rifles from their backs. Link slowly drew his sword and shield. McKay, having no talent for either drew his pistol from its holster. They all crept quietly towards the stairs and up them into the Sacred Grove.

 


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9 – The Stage is Set

 

Demise had been busy. His power was nearly complete. He had taken the city of Minas Tirith more easily than he had anticipated and had decided that it suited him far better than the Dark Tower in Mordor. The armies of Gondor had been unprepared and outmatched against his power. It was strange, he thought, the Others in this world had still not moved against him. Even now, his orcs were laying waste to this once peaceful kingdom, and the humans they didn't kill made decent slaves. Why hadn't the Others in this world moved against him? He wondered. Where were they? They were the sole reason he moved as slowly as he did. He knew now they didn't seem to want to interfere in this part of this planet, but then where were they?

 

He pondered this as his host sat on the white throne in the highest tower of Minas Tirith. Far below him, chained at the neck, and naked except for a loincloth the former king sat in his own filth. What was his name? Eldarion the second, ah yes, he remembered. Pitiful. He made interesting sport for his orc minions, but Demise wouldn't allow them to kill him. Not yet.

 

He pondered also how long it would take for his surprise to be discovered by the Hero.

 

* * *

 

The seven made their way quietly up the steps. Shepherd went first to scout it, then motioned for the others to come up. All was not well. He motioned for the others to keep quiet, but they all saw. The doors of the temple had been blown off their hinges. Only the frames still held together. All around them they could see the signs of something massive having ripped its way through the grove. Not a sound could be heard.

 

Shepherd motioned for Johnson and Davidson to check the far end of the ruins. A few minutes later they returned. “All clear, sir.” Davidson said.

 

“What did you see?” Shepherd asked.

 

“The doors on the far end have also been damaged. There are two statues that looked like they've been shattered to pieces. The only thing that looks like it's still standing is the pedestal in what was the sanctuary. There's a sword embedded in it, kind of like the sword in the stone from the King Arthur type movies.” Davidson reported.

 

Link looked at the doors that lay on the ground in pieces. “They were blown from the inside out.” He said. “Whatever did this wasn't trying to get into the temple, it came from the inside of the temple.”

 

“Now what?” Shepherd asked. “Link, can we still get inside the temple with just the door frame?”

 

Link studied it then said, “I don't know.” He then turned to Davidson and said, “You said the sword is still in the pedestal, and it's undamaged?”

 

“Yeah, why?” The soldier replied.

 

“I may know someone who does know if we can still enter the temple.” Link told them. “Wait here, he said. I have to do this alone.”

 

“No way. We stick together. We all go, or no one goes.” Shepherd responded. “Especially not if whatever made a mess of this place is still here.”

 

“Alright, but no matter what happens, you cannot interfere with it, do you understand?” Link said with as much gravity as he could muster.

 

“Alright. Let's go.” Shepherd said.

 

They all made their way across the ruined interior of the temple towards what had at one time been the inner sanctum. Link remembered the guardians who challenged him to solve a puzzle long before. It was their remains which Davidson saw scattered on the ground. Nothing barred their access to the sword.

 

Why hadn't it been damaged? Link wondered. It always had to be protected before. It couldn't actually protect itself now could it? Link ascended the stone steps to the pedestal. The others waited at the bottom. He approached the sword and stretched out his hand to it to take the hilt, as he had done so many times in the distant past.

 

A strangely mechanized yet lyrical voice sounded through the air and it was heard by all present, “Recognition accepted. My master accepted. Master Link, you are free to draw me from the pedestal. It has been a long time, master.” The voice rang out.

 

“It most certainly has, far too long, Fi.” Link whispered as he pulled upward on the sword. It gave way and slid easily out. Link pointed the sword skyward and a bright light flashed from the sword illuminating everything around them.

 

At this, an image of a strange looking young woman appeared instantly, at which Link's companions lifted their weapons. Link held out his hand for them to hold their fire and not shoot. “She won't hurt you.” He called out. “She's an old and dear friend. Her name is Fi, she's the spirit of the Master Sword.”

 

“Thank you master. I have unfortunate news to report to you. The Demon King's spirit recently escaped his captivity. I could no longer keep him bound. The Triforce of Power makes it impossible. I am sorry.” Fi reported.

 

“We knew it would happen eventually, Fi.” Link responded.

 

“Yes, we did.” Fi replied.

 

“She's some kind of hologram being projected by the sword.” McKay observed, whispering to no one in particular. “It definitely looks like Ancient tech.”

 

“I was created and brought online by the goddess Hylia, whom you now know as Zelda, ten thousand years ago. I can only be wielded by the goddess' chosen Hero. No one else may dare touch me, at the risk of their own life.” Fi responded.

 

“Right. Link, you said that she might know if we can still get into the temple with just the door frame.” Shepherd asked.

 

“I calculate a ninety-eight percent probability that access to the true temple's interior is still possible as long as the door frame is still fully intact.” Fi responded.

 

“Hey, uh, Fi?” McKay began. “Hey, uh, is it possible for us to fix a jewel to the sword, one that would be very useful in defeating the Demon King?”

 

“Rodney,” Shepherd whispered, “we just met her and you already want to mount a jewel on her?”

 

“Please hand the jewel in question to Master Link so that I may analyze it.” Fi responded.

 

Rodney dug a small case out of a pocket on his thigh and opened it. Inside was a small, red diamond shaped jewel that, stepping carefully up the steps he handed to Link.

 

Link then showed the jewel to Fi. She looked intently at it. “I can mount it without any significant damage to it or myself. Please, what is its function?” Fi inquired.

 

“It's called a sangraal jewel. It neutralizes the energy wavelengths of ascended beings.” McKay replied.

 

“You could have just said it kills evil gods, Rodney.” Shepherd said.

 

“I understood what 'Rodney' said perfectly.” Fi said. “Processing analysis. Composition unknown. Highly complex molecular structure. Not of Hylian manufacture or technology. Probability of success at stated purpose, unknown. Has it been tested previously?”

 

“Once, on a larger scale as a weapon of mass destruction.” McKay answered. “The test was successful. This one is meant for a single target instead of many.”

 

“Demise.” Fi said.

 

“Yes.” Link answered.

 

“You intend to break the cycle, Master Link?” Fi said.

 

“Yes, Fi. We will both finally be free of him.” Link said.

 

“The probability of failure remains astronomical, Master Link.” Fi observed.

 

“Hasn't it always, Fi?” Link replied.

 

“Please place the jewel against the cross piece of my hand guard.” Fi instructed. Link followed her instructions. As soon as the jewel touched the metal it began to change and shape itself around the jewel until the Jewel was firmly and snugly embedded in the Sword. “Assimilation complete. Sangraal jewel is now fully powered and operational.” Fi announced. The jewel itself glowed red on the crosspiece.

 

Link drew the Ordonian sword he had carried for the last six years and laid it on the ground next to the pedestal. Fi's image vanished and it appeared as though she leapt into the sword in Link's hand. Link gave the sword a wave and this placed it in the scabbard at his back.

 

“Ok, so now how do we open the portal to the temple?” Shepherd asked.

 

“Follow me.” Link replied.

 

The seven of them walked back to the empty door frame and link drew a small flute from under his tunic. He played six notes, the same notes that he had heard Impa play so many years before. “Stand back,” he said. The door frame shimmered and then a familiar, water like image appeared in front of them. “That's some tune.” Shepherd remarked. “Zelda's lullaby.” Link said.

 

Link replaced the flute under his tunic, drew the Master Sword once more, raised his shield and stepped through the portal. The others followed suit.

 

Inside, the temple was still a golden glow, but something had gone terribly wrong. Stone benches were smashed. Pots were shattered. The gateway through which they had traveled lay on it's face on the floor, having been wrenched from its hiding place. In front of it lay the body of an old woman in a pool of blood.

 

Link replaced his sword and shield on his back and quickly ran down to her. “Impa!” he called out.

 

He lifted her aged head. Her neck was still supple. “Secure the area!” Shepherd called out, and he and his men began to circle around the chamber.

 

Link cradled Impa's head in his arms and she weakly opened her eyes, “Hero?” She said in a fading, aged voice.

 

“Yes, your grace, I'm here now. We've got to get you out of here and get you some help.” He said to her, searching her body for her wound. It was right across her midsection, a nasty gash torn into her side by some foul claw. It continued to bleed profusely.

 

“No, Hero. Link, you cannot move me from here. If you move me from this place I will die. Time and the elements have no meaning here. If I enter normal time, I will die with this wound.” Impa said slowly. “It was the Demon King.” She wheezed. “He finally broke free. I'm not sure how long ago.” Each word brought her pain as she tried to speak them. “He wanted you to find this place, and me, like this. He wanted to me to remain in pain unable to die. He didn't want to leave one of his minions for you because he wanted to meet you himself one last time. He's waiting for you in Middle-Earth.”

 

Shepherd came up to Link and saw Impa's wound. His eyes went wide with rage. “My god,” he said. “If you don't kill him, Link, I will.” He then met the old woman's eyes, “Is there anything we can do for her?” He asked, knowing what a normal answer would be. But Hyrule wasn't a normal world, and had a way of throwing things at you sideways that you didn't expect.

 

Link looked up at him in anguish, and then remembered, “Fairy's Tears!” He practically shouted.

 

“Yeah, what about them?” Shepherd asked.

 

“I have some!” Link felt under his chain-mail for a small bottle. “I won them for rescuing a Great Fairy a few years ago.” He brought the bottle out, it glowed with a pink light which sparkled. He thought of his mother, and realized that Farore had blessed him with the chance he hadn't been given with Saria. “Here, Impa take this.” He held the vial up to her lips and she drank.

 

Immediately, Impa's wound began to close and she looked as though she was glowing herself. Shepherd even thought she may have been getting younger! She blinked her eyes and sat up.

 

“That was a precious gift to give me, Hero.” She said, her voice stronger, much stronger than any of them had ever heard it.

 

“Hyrule could not afford to lose you, Impa.” Link said.

 

McKay had circled back to see Impa standing up and in better health than he was. “How in the world?” He said.

 

“Magic.” Link responded.

 

“If you want to play the game, you have to learn the rules.” McKay muttered grudgingly.

 

“Wise words.” Impa said.

 

“Yeah, um, we're secure here, John. There's nothing else here. The gate looks toast though.” McKay said.

 

“Great, now what?” Shepherd said.

 

Just then, Link remembered the night before, and his mother. “Impa, Farore came to me last night and told me that there was a book which was kept where time and the elements couldn't touch it. Do you know where it is?”

 

“There are many books here in this place.” Impa responded.

 

“Books? Where?” McKay asked excitedly.

 

“In the library of the temple of course.” Impa responded impatiently.

 

“Is there a linking book there?” Mckay then caught himself and began to explain further, “is there a book that described another world with a panel in the back of it like a window that shows you the world?”

 

“Yes, there are many like that. They describe and show many worlds.” Impa responded.

 

“Can you take us there, your grace?” Link asked her, respectfully.

 

Impa eyed all of them thoughtfully, and then said, “of course, follow me, and don't veer from my path. The temple of time holds many wonders, and dangers.”

 

They followed her as she ascended the steps of the temple. As she passed hallway and room she lightly disarmed traps, snares, and guardians to allow them to pass. Link didn't remember it being that easy the last time he had been made to explore this temple.

 

Finally, several floors up, they reached a room which was lined from floor to ceiling with books. “In here,” she motioned them all in.

 

“There's something very familiar about this room.” Link said. “I feel like I've been here before.”

 

“There is something very 'D'ni'ish about it, isn't there?” Shepherd said.

 

Impa led them over to a shelf of books with names written neatly in a flowing script on their spines. They looked as if they had just been printed and bound yesterday. There was no dust or age on them to be seen.

 

“We're looking for a 'book of Earth' or 'book of Terra'.” McKay said.

 

“The Book of Terra?” Impa said, “why that one?”

 

“It's hard to explain, but these books act like gateways if you press your hand to the panel in the back. They draw you in and transport you to that world.” McKay responded.

 

“I know what these books are, Doctor McKay. Do you think I've spent thousands of years here just sitting and looking important?” Impa replied. “I can read the ancient writing. I was asking why you want the Book of Terra when Demise is in Mudora.”

 

Rodney was taken aback by that. “Oh. Okay, well... um...”

 

“Wait a second, I thought he was in Middle Earth?” Shepherd said.

 

“Mudora is the ancient term for Middle Earth, Colonel Shepherd. You will also need a book to return here to Hyrule.” She said as she plucked two volumes from the shelf and handed them to Shepherd.

 

“Hang on.” McKay then said, absolutely irate. “The linking book was here the entire time, and you didn't bother to tell us about it? We could have gone home six years ago!”

 

“You weren't ready for it, and travel through time is easy for this place.” Impa replied sagely. “We will discuss your return home when you return here; if you return. I hedge my bets, you might say, in protecting my world. Wouldn't you do the same?”

 

Shepherd didn't know if he wanted to smile at or hit the old lady. He then thought of all the technology which they had introduced to Hyrule for the very same reason, and decided he understood her very well.

 

“Alright, we go to Middle Earth then. Johnson, Davidson, Billings, Samuels, you guys in?” Shepherd asked.

 

“All the way, sir. We've never backed down yet.” They responded.

 

“Rodney, are you good with this?” Shepherd asked.

 

Rodney still looked extremely annoyed, but then said, “yeah, I'm fine. I'm good to go.”

 

Shepherd looked at Link and didn't have to ask. His eyes told him everything. Either Demise was going down, or Link was. Either way, it would be over.

 

“Good luck.” Impa said.

 

“Look after Epona?” Link said.

 

“Of course, and the other horses as well.” She replied.

 

Shepherd tucked the small return book into a pocket on his thigh. The seven men held hands and Link touched the back panel of the Book of Mudora. The seven men transformed to pure energy and were drawn into the window of the book.

 

“May the three goddesses go with you. Nayru grant them your Wisdom, Din grant them your power, Farore grant them your courage.” Impa whispered as a prayer.

 

She then took the Book of Mudora with her as she descended the stairs again. She could now afford to leave the temple for a short time. The Fairy's Tears had given her all the strength she would need. The horses would need to be returned to Hyrule castle, and the seven companions would need all the help she could give them. “I always hedge my bets,” she said to herself, “it is time I paid my Lady a visit once more.”

 


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10 - Middle-Earth

 

“Where do you think we are?” Shepherd asked McKay. They had materialized in a grove of tall, stately ancient trees. It felt peaceful around them, and left them all with just a good feeling of well-being. At first, Link had thought something had gone wrong and they had materialized somewhere in Faron woods, but the woods of his homeland never looked this beautiful or well kept. McKay looked around him, up and down, this way and that and said, “Hang on a minute, let me just get my bearings.”

 

The soldiers brought their guns up as a precaution, but the woods around them appeared to be empty, and almost as though it had been sleeping for some time. “I'm not sure,” McKay said. “It's been a long time since I read 'The Lord of the Rings'.” He then asked, “didn't you ever read it?”

 

“I saw the movies. They were cool.” Shepherd responded. “Ok, well it doesn't look exactly like the movies but if I were to guess, I'd say we were in Lothlorien.”

 

“Oh, and why is that?” McKay asked.

 

“Look up, Rodney.” Shepherd pointed up. High in the trees could be seen platforms where wooden structures had been built... no, grown into the trees around them. There were standing at the forest floor base of a great city high in the trees.

 

“Oh, wow.” Rodney remarked. It was unlike anything he had ever seen before.

 

“Uh, I saw that movie, too, Colonel and weren't there supposed to be elves in Lothlorien?” Davidson asked.

 

“Yes, there were.” Shepherd responded. “So where's the welcome party?” Then looking up he asked another question, “Ok, there's a city high in the trees, but no movement. There's no people that we can see anywhere.”

 

“You know this place?” Link asked. “You've been here before?”

 

“Sort of. Yes and no. No we haven't been here before, but yes we know a little about it, just like we knew a little about Hyrule.” Shepherd said. “We know of its stories at any rate.”

 

Link nodded his understanding. Then looked up towards the trees again, and then down across their bases. “I hear and see no one. This place looks like it was abandoned a long time ago.”

 

“Rodney, is that possible?” Shepherd asked.

 

“Uh, let me think, it's been a long time. Let's see, the elves were leaving Middle-Earth for Valinor during the 'Lord of the Rings', so we may have come after they've all abandoned Lothlorien. Let's see, Galadriel, Elrond, Celeborn, and Gandalf would have all left within a few years after Sauron's fall. I'm not sure what would have happened to the Elven lands except that they couldn't maintain them after the power of the three elven rings failed.”

 

“Ok,” Shepherd reasoned, “so we've arrived years after the return of the king, right?”

 

“I'm pretty sure, yeah.” McKay said. “Wait a second, there may be at least one way to determine how much longer after.” He then said.

 

“Oh, and what's that?” Shepherd said.

 

“Come with me, if I'm right, it shouldn't be far.” McKay responded. “It's something you'd only know about from reading the appendix in the back of the book.”

 

They marched for a couple of hours towards what McKay thought should be the center of the woods. They had arrived in the morning by their best guess, and it proved to be the correct one as the sun rose high overhead and its light was broken up playfully by the high canopy of the trees.

 

There in the center was a mound, like a small hill where a tree grew in the center. A platform was built high up in its branches, and another wood structure, like a small house. McKay wasn't sure what he'd find when he found what he was looking for.

 

“Ok, spread out. You'll know when you find her. I think, anyway.” McKay said.

 

“Find who?” Shepherd said.

 

“Arwen.” McKay said. “In the appendix, it talks about after Aragorn's death, Arwen returned to Lothlorien, to Cerin Amroth, this mound, where she died before the following spring. If we find her, we might be able to tell roughly how much time has passed.”

 

“Ugh.” Shepherd said. “So are we looking for an old woman, a corpse, or bones?”

 

“As I said, we'll know it when we find it.”

 

“Doctor,” Link said. “I think I've found her, or what's left of her.” He wasn't that far from them, and was bending down inspecting something on the ground.

 

McKay came over to look at what the Hylian had found. On the ground, half buried was a skull. All the flesh had long since rotted away and it was clean and dry. The skull looked mostly human, but there were slight differences. It looked more refined somehow. Around the crown of the skull lay a circlet of silver, set with a diamond. It was the diadem of a queen.

 

“So, it's been a long time then.” Shepherd said when he saw it.

 

“A very long time.” McKay agreed. “Aragorn reigned for a hundred and twenty years after he took the throne. She came here right after he died, so I'd say at least a couple of hundred years have gone by.”

 

“Ok, so where do we go from here? How do we find Demise?” Shepherd questioned.

 

“If he's at full strength, the land will be under attack. He'll strike the heart of this land, its capital city, to demonstrate his power over it. He will make no pretense at hiding it.” Link said.

 

“Its capital city. Wouldn't that be, uh...” Shepherd snapped his fingers twice, “the white city...”

 

“Minas Tirith.” McKay supplied.

 

“Minas Tirith. How far are we from there? Didn't that take weeks for Aragorn and his friends to get there?” Shepherd asked in frustration.

 

“Let me think.” McKay said. “They didn't take the straight path there. They got side-tracked going after the hobbits. They took boats down the river which could have taken them straight there if they had let it.”

 

“Ok, follow the river, that's a start. What river?” Shepherd asked.

 

“Ok, there's a river that runs straight through Lorien called the Nimrodel, and then it meets up with the Great River called the Anduin. Think Mississippi great. The Anduin heads south over the falls of Rauros and down through the city of Osgiliath which faces opposite Minas Tirith.” McKay said.

 

“How far?” Shepherd asked. “And what was that about falls?”

 

“About four or five hundred miles or so,” McKay answered. “The falls of Rauros. There's supposed to be a passage of some kind that would let people carry small boats down by hand carved next to them.”

 

There was a light breeze that blew through the trees just then causing their leaves to rustle gently. Link noticed it and looked up into the trees, but saw nothing. “How far are we from this river Nimrodel,” he asked.

 

“We shouldn't be far at all.” McKay said. “If we head south we should run directly into it.” He said.

 

“You don't suppose there might be boats still there after all this time, do you?” Samuels, who had been quiet while the others talked, suggested.

 

“Normally, I'd say no,” McKay said, “but it's worth a look.”

 

The party then marched in the direction of the river. It took another hour or so, but they reached it in the late afternoon. It was flowing gently but swiftly. They did indeed find small boats, and upon further searching a larger boat that had been pulled up and had sat on the shore in storage for some time. After looking it over, they couldn't find any sign of wear or rot on it. They took a quick rest and ate some rations they had brought with them in their packs. They ate warily not knowing what to expect.

 

Link, more than anyone, knew the Demon King's way of operating. It was strange that he hadn't had anything here waiting for them, unless he didn't know they would turn up in this place. If that was the case, then it was a strange piece of luck, but a welcome one. “I don't think he knows we're here, or where we are.” Link said.

 

“I thought he could do all sorts of spying with his magic. Shouldn't he have shown up in the same place as we did?” Shepherd said.

 

“I would have thought. But his normal way of doing things is to leave something behind to try and kill me. As you said, where is the welcome party?” Link said.

 

“Hmm. Rodney, will two different linking books take you to two different locations in the same world?” Shepherd asked.

 

“No, at least I don't think so. I mean, I suppose it's possible, but it doesn't fit with what I've read on them.” McKay said as he polished off some dried fruit.

 

“Could someone have interfered with us linking here? Redirected us away from the original target destination?” Shepherd asked.

 

“I don't know enough about it.” McKay said. “Stargates go from gate to gate. Sure, it's possible to jump a wormhole from one gate to another, but there isn't a target gate when you're using a D'ni book. I'd think you'd have to rewrite the linking book, and then you might change the world you link to altogether.”

 

It was a puzzle they'd have to figure out.

 

When they finished eating they worked on turning the larger boat right side up and putting into the water. It wasn't nearly as heavy as they thought it would be and when they righted it, they found packages tied neatly into the bottom of it with cord. Upon searching them, they found lengths of rope, and some kind of wafer bread that somehow still seemed fresh, though it had to be far older than they were.

 

“Lembas,” McKay said looking at it. “Elven waybread.”

 

“You don't think it could still be edible do you?” Shepherd asked.

 

McKay broke a tiny corner off of one of the wafers and popped it in his mouth. “I'd say... yeah. It's as fresh as if it was baked yesterday.” He said as he broke off another piece.

 

“Hey doc, wasn't a single bite of that supposed to hold a full grown man for a full day?” Davidson asked.

 

“Yes, well... I was just testing it.” McKay said uncomfortably as he wrapped the rest of the Lembas up and returned it to the wrapped supplies

 

“You don't suppose someone could have put this here for us to find, do you?” Shepherd said out loud what they were all thinking. It seemed a little too convenient.

 

“How? The only person who knew at least Link would be coming here would be Demise. I doubt he'd try and give us a lift to come and fight him.” McKay said.

 

A warm breeze rustled through the leaves of the trees overhead. Only Link seemed to have noticed.

 

* * *

 

“Where is he?” Demise wondered aloud to himself. Is it possible he didn't find a way into this world? Could his old adversary really have failed to find a way to reach him after all these years? His host paced the throne room atop Minas Tirith back and forth. There was no one else there with him except the fallen king, passed out on the floor. He needed no guards, and neither did he want them.

 

He had materialized almost immediately in the blackened land known as Mordor. The linking book should have brought the Hero to the same location. Demise had a nice little pet waiting for him. Oddly enough, she was already here; a relic from this world's more interesting past. His orc followers called her “Shelob”, and she was very hungry. But he had received no word from his scouts or spies about a green clad boy.

 

If it was one thing he could always count on it would be the Hero's persistence. He had come to trust it, even count on it. Had Demise's faith in the boy hero been misplaced? It had never occurred to him that the Hero wouldn't make it this far. How inconsiderate to make Demise return to Hyrule to destroy him. That just simply didn't fit, but then where was he?

 

He snapped his taloned fingers and a murder of crows appeared before him. “You will be my eyes.” He said. “Go,” he commanded. “Fly throughout this land, and go where my orcs dare not. Find me a boy of either ten or sixteen years wearing green and carrying a bright sword and shield.” The crows departed out through the doorway and into the twilit sky of evening.

 

“Twilight.” He mused. That was a clever campaign, he reminisced. “Too bad my host didn't make it. It was a mutually beneficial relationship.” He looked at the back of his host's right hand where a mark of three triangles had been tattooed. One of them gave a soft golden reflection of the dim light.

 

* * *

 

They set the boat in the water, climbed in and set off down the Nimrodel. There were four oars in the boat, although they only needed two most of the time. The boat seemed to move almost under it's own power, and the rowing wasn't as tiring as it probably should be. They debated about whether or not they should stop and go ashore for rest periods, but decided against it. They needed to get to the white city as quickly as possible. They were surrounded by water, and they had enough food that didn't need to be cooked for a long journey already provisioned in the boat. They took shifts rowing and resting and decided to only pull to shore once a day if they needed to relieve themselves and couldn't do it from the boat.

 

They met up with the Anduin around the middle of the first night. McKay was right, it was at least as wide as the Mississippi as far as Shepherd could see by the full moonlight. He knew Link must be somewhat impressed because there were no rivers that wide in Hyrule, but the boy's face was impassive.

 

“Hey, you okay?” Shepherd asked him. “It's wide, but it's still pretty calm for the most part.”

 

“It's not the river. I've been on boats and rafts much smaller and less sturdy than this.” Link responded.

 

“Right.” Shepherd said, not knowing what to say.

 

“If we succeed,” Link continued, “what will happen then? What will my purpose in this life be?”

 

“Well, anything you want. You could go back and serve the Princess, or possibly even go home to Ordon and be a goat-herd if you really wanted. Your options are pretty open.” Shepherd said.

 

“Are they really?” Link asked.

 

“What is it you want to do?” Shepherd asked.

 

“I don't know. I've never been given the choice before.” Link responded thoughtfully.

 

“It's not like there won't be any more bad guys to fight. Hyrule will still need its best to defend it.” Shepherd told him.

 

“How do you know that?” Link asked.

 

“One thing I've learned, Link, is that there's always more bad guys that keep popping up.” Shepherd began. “Look at us from Earth. At first we had to deal with the Goa'uld. Then, once we thought we had them under control it was the replicators, after that it was the Ori, then the Wraith, then more replicators. Along the way we've had the Lucian Alliance and a few other surprises thrown at us. It never seems to end, and we don't have the excuse of a Demon King constantly trying to come back. Even this world of Middle-Earth had Sauron, Saruman, Orcs, dragons, the Nazgul; my point is that there's always going to be somebody trying to make trouble and squash on the little guy. That's where those of us who can have to step up and stop them.”

 

Link dwelt on this thoughtfully. “You speak wise words.” He finally said. “Perhaps the spirit of the Hero will continue long after I am gone after all.”

 

Shepherd then realized what he had been talking about all along. It wasn't just the kid in front of him he had grown to like, it was the whole reincarnation of the Hero thing that was making him so pensive and moody. Without the Demon King, the Hero might no longer be needed. On Earth it might mean no more cool video games. In Hyrule, it would mean a radical change in the course of their history and beliefs. It was a profound thought.

 

The seven companions continued on down the Anduin, pulling ashore once during the middle of the day and getting as quickly under the trees by the river as they could. They didn't want to be without cover on the ground, even if no one knew they were there. They took care of their business as fast as they could and then climbed back in and continued down the river. They ate in the boat from their Hylian rations, and when these were spent, they started sampling the Lembas bread. They spent the next few days like this.

 

On the fourth day they saw as impressive of a sight as they had ever seen. Two massive stone statues of kings on opposite sides of the river, at least a hundred feet tall, with one arm outstretched as though trying to warn people off. “Ok, this is where we need to pull our boat to the west side of the shore and look for the stairway down. We're coming up to the Falls of Rauros.” McKay told the rest.

 

“That's quite the warning sign,” remarked Samuels.

 

Overhead, a crow circled in the air, looking at them curiously. Link spotted it and drew the bow he had been carrying. He knocked an arrow and let it fly. The crow dropped from the air like a stone and landed with a small, hard splash in the water, followed by a puff of blackish smoke, though it wasn't noticeable.

 

“Nice shot, but what did the crow do to you?” Shepherd asked.

 

“Crows can be the Demon King's spies. Better to be safe than sorry.” Link told him.

 

They paddled to the western shore and pulled the boat out of the water. It was remarkably light, even with the extra weight of the provisions and the oars. The seven of them would have no trouble carrying it. Link went ahead along the edge of the waterfall as a scout to find the path to the stair. “You want me to go with him, sir?” Billings asked.

 

“No, he'll be fine. I'm pretty sure he can take care of himself.” Shepherd told him.

 

The falls were amazing to Link's eyes. The power and the noise of the water was nothing short of awesome. This whole world seemed more... intense and alive. Not seeing any path big enough to haul a boat through right next to the edge, and certainly no stairway to bring it down, Link explored away from the falls a little.

 

“Master Link,” Fi's image emerged, “I detect creatures approaching. I have never encountered creatures of this type before. They are giving off a dark energy. I calculate there is a ninety-five percent chance they are hostile.”

 

“How many?” Link asked.

 

“Two that I can detect. They are approaching from a wide path to your southwest. My calculations indicate they are not aware of your presence.” She said, then disappeared back into the sword, which Link then quietly drew as he crept southwest towards the path he had been searching for.

 

He watched the path silently through some bushes that his green tunic blended in with very well. A few minutes passed and the creatures came into view marching in lockstep along the road. Fi was correct, there were only two of them. They were large and muscular with jet black skin, small cruel eyes and yellow fangs. They wore armor and carried long swords with sharp hooks at the end. They both had heavy shields. Link had never seen an orc before, but they looked far more intimidating than the bokoblins had been. One of them carried a horn on a strap around his neck. They were heading in the direction of Colonel Shepherd and his team.

 

Link quietly waited until the orcs had passed, then crept out of the bushes behind them. His mind and his body remembered how to dispatch them with ease and silently. With practically no sound, he crept up behind them and spun his sword with all the power he could muster, aiming for the backs of their heads, which were unarmored. The orcs fell with a clank of their armor.

 

Link waited a few minutes for them to disappear in a puff of smoke like they always did. He continued to wait. The bodies remained. A black pool of blood collected under them. Link then looked at his sword blade and discovered that it was sprayed with a black fluid. These weren't creatures of magic, he realized. The Demon King was using real beings for his soldiers.

 

He wiped his blade in the bushes to the side of the road, then he dragged both corpses into the bushes as well. They were ridiculously heavy. He searched the bodies for anything useful, but found nothing. Satisfied they had no companions who would be coming along shortly, Link returned to his party by way of the road he had found.

 

“The road for the stair is there,” he reported. “There were two orcs patrolling it. I took care of them. They didn't vanish, so I hid the bodies in the bushes.” Link said this with disgust.

 

The rest of them looked at him oddly. “They didn't vanish?” Shepherd asked. “Why would they?”

 

“The Demon King usually uses creatures created from his own dark magic. Every time I've killed them before they simply explode in black smoke and disappear. These orcs didn't. He's now using real living beings as his soldiers.” Link explained.

 

“Well, let me ease your mind a little about it. Every one of those orcs, in this world, is a creature of darkness. They may bleed like everyone else, but there's nothing good left in them. They fight amongst themselves, and they'll eat each other if they get the chance.” Shepherd told him.

 

Link nodded. “I've never had to deal with the bodies before.”

 

“Welcome to our world.” Shepherd replied.

 

McKay looked pensive. “He's never used real beings before?”

 

“No, not really.” Link said.

 

McKay became lost in thought as he worked with the others.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11 – Playing Poker

 

There were two other small orc patrols guarding the stair, the companions discovered. They were dispatched quickly with well aimed arrows from Link. Shepherd didn't want any of his team to use their guns and ammunition yet. They would have no way of replacing it, and without silencers the noise the weapons would make would be announcing to the whole of Middle Earth where they were. Billings and Davidson searched the orcs' outpost and bodies but found nothing useful. Even their rations looked spoiled and inedible.

 

They got the boat safely back into the water at the bottom of the falls and climbed back in. “Ok, we're now in enemy territory,” Shepherd observed. “Eyes open.”

 

The woods which had given them some cover before had given way to open plains and fields along this stretch of the Anduin. They could see for miles, and they were certain they could be seen just as easily, but there was no other way to get to their objective quickly. After the first day in from the falls, Shepherd became more tense. The sky above them was covered in thick black clouds that the sun couldn't seem to penetrate. In the distance they could see fires that had been lit on both sides of the river.

 

He voiced his concerns, “Someone's going to be missing those troops we took out back at the stair. They should have been expected to report by now, I would imagine. I'd expect it, anyway.” Shepherd said.

 

“You think those fires could be friendlies, sir?” Johnson asked.

 

“I doubt it.” Shepherd said.

 

“There sure are lots of them.” Johnson replied.

 

“Let's just hope the darkness gives us some cover out here on the water.” Shepherd said.

 

High up in the sky, but out of their sight, a crow followed them for a distance then flew off towards the south and west.

 

* * *

 

Demise watched the little boat through the eyes of his spy. He could see the flash of green which one of the members of the little party had worn, but he couldn't see much else from that height. Could it be the Hero? And if it was, who were the men who were with him? He pondered this and the loss of one of his crows back at the upper parts of the Anduin. That crow hadn't seen anything but the arrow which felled it.

 

“My lord,” a rasping voice addressed him from behind. He turned to see one of his lieutenants, Giliwog.

 

“Report.” Demise ordered.

 

“We've lost contact with our outpost at the foot of the Falls of Rauros. They haven't reported in for the last day.” Giliwog reported.

 

Demise digested this news carefully.

 

“Should we send a scout to check on them, my lord?” Giliwog asked.

 

“No,” Demise decided. “No, I have a good idea as to what befell them. Send another platoon to take their place and clean up the mess.”

 

“Yes, my lord.” Giliwog replied obediently.

 

“And summon two legions to assemble on the west bank of the Anduin north of Osgiliath. I believe we're going to have visitors, and I want to welcome them properly. Give instructions that the green clad boy is not to be killed under any circumstances. He is to be left to me. They can do what they wish with the others.” Demise instructed.

 

“Yes, my lord.” Giliwog said, then backed away to carry out his orders.

 

Demise watched him go. He could feel the large orc's belief in him radiating out. It energized him.

 

* * *

 

Around the middle of the second day on the water, the darkness had grown more intense. They could see a city on the water from a distance. Fires burned bright around it.

 

“Do you think it could still be...?” McKay asked.

 

“You read the book, and I saw the movie. Look at the sky Rodney. We're not going to get a warm reception at Osgiliath. We're going to have to try and go to shore and make our way overland across the fields.”

 

“Right. Of course.” McKay replied.

 

They rowed to the west bank of the river and pulled the boat up on to the shore. The men who had them drew their guns and the seven of them began their survey of the landscape in front of them. In the distance, they could see the outline of mountains where what looked like a large white structure had been carved into the side. That was their objective. But there was a snag they hadn't expected.

 

“Holy crap.” McKay exclaimed. In front of them were what looked like thousands of huge orcs in armor, standing in lined formation, facing them. They were just standing there, waiting. The seven had no cover to speak of, they all hit the ground as soon as they saw them and prayed to whoever was listening that they themselves hadn't been seen.

 

“Greetings Hero!” A rasping voice boomed out from across the fields. “I've been expecting you for some time. I'll have to admit I thought you'd be here sooner than this, but better late than never. And you brought friends to the party. How nice.”

 

“The Demon King.” Link said.

 

“Can he see us?” Shepherd asked in a whisper.

 

“I don't know. Probably.” Link responded whispering as well.

 

“Oh, of course I can see you, and hear you quite well.” Demise's host's voice boomed across the fields. “You might as well stand up and stop groveling in the dirt, unless of course you prefer it there.”

 

They stood up to face the host of orcs in front of them, and their unseen master. Their weapons were raised. Link unsheathed the Master Sword and hefted his shield.

 

“Are you afraid to face me yourself?” Link shouted.

 

“I could ask the same of you. This is the first time you've brought friends. But no, these orcs aren't for you, Hero. They're here to entertain your friends while we get on with the business at hand.” The voice boomed.

 

At this the orcs began marching towards the river. “I will see you shortly, Hero of Hyrule.” The voice faded off.

 

“Great, now what.” McKay asked.

 

“Wait until they're close enough for us to see their eyes. Make every shot count. When we run out of clips and bullets, we draw swords.” Shepherd said, eying the approaching army. “Let's hope that armor isn't bullet proof.”

 

The orcs marched closer and closer, weapons out. Finally Shepherd called out, “now!” And they let loose with gunfire. Row after row of orcs went down, and row after row orcs stepped up to take their place.

 

“What's going on?” Shepherd shouted. “I thought they would have cut and run by now! They were never this disciplined in the movie!”

 

“How should I know?!” McKay shouted back.

 

Link was next to them firing arrow after arrow. Not a single shot missed its target as he found the chinks in every orc's armor he aimed at.

 

Finally, the bullets were all spent. Link's arrows were exhausted and they still kept coming.

 

“It was good knowing you all.” McKay said. Shepherd gave him a look, and then nodded.

 

“It will be better knowing you after all this is done.” Link said, and then, Master Sword and Hylian shield in his hands, he charged the orc lines. Orc after orc fell to his blade as he slashed, spun, jumped, ducked, and stabbed. Before his companions knew it, he had carved a pathway deep through the orc ranks and sent them into total chaos.

 

“Well, are we going to let him have all the fun?!” Shepherd shouted.

 

“NO, SIR! Johnson shouted and, sword in hand charged the orcs himself, followed by Shepherd, McKay, Billings, Davidson, and Samuels.

 

They fought and fought. Each swing of the sword brought death, and they had to keep well away from each other because they no longer paid attention to where their sword blows were landing. But they knew it wouldn't be enough.

 

Then, in the distance a horn sounded. It was a familiar, welcome sound, though Shepherd had no idea where it came from. It was a Hylian horn, a call to battle. It was one he had taught his men. Then he heard, or more felt the rumbling on the ground. It was the rumbling of horses; hundreds of horses at least. Then there were gunshots, and orcs started falling seemingly for no reason.

 

Shepherd was able to get a glimpse of what was happening and it was the most beautiful sight by far that he had seen since coming into this world. So beautiful, he almost cried. Hundreds of men in bright shining armor wearing the Hylian crest. It was the Hylian cavalry, and they were charging the orcs, firing into them with McKay's rifles and riding them down with their hooves.

 

The orcs began breaking their ranks and turned to meet the new threat with pikes, but the cavalry was too well trained to ride into them. They pulled up their horses and began laying down a hail of bullets into the pikemen. In very little time, they were no longer a threat.

 

Link hadn't see any of it. He was too focused on getting to his own meeting. Orc after orc fell under his blade, and they all ran from him, not daring to fight back. He almost pitied them. Almost.

 

He had reached the other side of their legions and was staring at open field. Minas Tirith loomed before him. And he began his own long march towards the white city.

 

Then a black void appeared before him and it became a vortex. A lone figure emerged from it. The figure was tall, muscular, well armored, and imposing. It was an orc with flaming red hair that really seemed to be on fire. It carried two massive swords, one in each hand.

 

“Greetings, boy.” The orc said.

 

“I see you've found another willing host.” Link replied.

 

“Indeed.” The orc remarked. “I regret this will be our last battle.”

 

“Yes, it will.” Link agreed. “So then let's end it. Now.” The red jewel glowed brightly in the hilt of the Master Sword. He brought out a small blue jewel from a pouch at his belt and squeezed it between his fingers, causing a blue field of energy to surround him.

 

“So eager to die?” The orc asked.

 

“Eager to be done with this.” Link responded, and lunged, jumping high into the air and brought his sword down towards the orc's head. As the blade came down it froze in mid-air, along with the rest of Link.

 

“Typical.” The orc said. “You always were a little slow on the uptake.” He calmly walked out from under the blow which should have cleaved him from head to hindquarters and stepped to the side. “You can do better,” he whispered in Link's ear. He then snapped his fingers and Link fell to the ground.

 

He sprang to his feet again, shield and sword up and ready. “How?” He asked.

 

The orc didn't disappoint him, “Oh, that's right, you don't really understand how this works, do you?” He gloated. “I am ancient, boy. I existed before Hyrule. Funny, no real being in Hyrule had any true faith in me, but here...” he swept his hand to indicate all the land in front of them, “here I have found followers in abundance who have surrendered to me their complete will and devotion. I am more powerful now than all of Hyrule's so called gods put together. There is nothing you can do, little Hero.”

 

Link attempted to swipe at the orc's arm but the orc vanished and then reappeared behind him. He gave Link a shove in the back with his bare, taloned foot, knocking him to the ground. “Now that wasn't nice, was it?” The orc said.

 

Link sprang back to his feet to face him. “So you're just going to use magic tricks? Are you afraid to face me in real combat? Or are those swords just for show?”

 

The orc twisted his lips into a cruel smile, “In time, when I'm ready to kill you properly,” he said. “And speaking of magic tricks, Nayru's magic will only last you a few more seconds, and I'm in no hurry. I want to enjoy this.”

 

Link then held out his sword and spun with it towards the creature in front of him. The orc thrust down a sword and blocked the full energy of the swing easily as though Link had only been trying to tap it.

 

“Haven't you anything better than that?” The orc asked. “I'm getting rather bored. I had hoped to enjoy this more.”

 

Link thought for a moment, he didn't know if it would get through, but it was worth a try. He raised the point of the Master Sword high in the air and it began to glow with a radiant light. He then swung it down violently towards the orc. A blaze of light shot forth from the sword and struck the orc full in the chest. Knocking him to the ground. Link then took full advantage of it and leapt high into the air and plunged the tip of his blade through the orc's armor and into his chest.

 

The orc's eyes went wide, “how?!” Then light began to pour forth from them as the sangraal jewel flashed in its mount and activated. “Nooooo!” The orc cried out. The orc exploded in a radiant ball of bright light and Link was thrown backwards from the force of it. He landed several yards away knocked unconscious.

 

* * *

 

In the distance, Shepherd saw a bright white flash of light burst forth accompanied by a mushroom cloud. The orcs all around him panicked and ran. “Game over.” Shepherd said quietly.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12 - Endings

 

Link was standing in the middle of a cool green forest. Sunlight played and danced among the breaks in the leaves and fell dappled onto the brown, mossy forest floor. Light laughter swam around him, dancing this way and that.

 

“My dear, sweet, brave boy, Link,” a familiar maternal voice said warmly.

 

“Mother?” He asked into the air, and then added, “Farore?”

 

The leaves from the trees flew off and spun in a whirlwind before him forming the shape and image of a woman he knew well.

 

“My dear boy, I'm so proud of you.” The woman said, her glowing eyes radiating that pride towards him.

 

“Is it over, mother? Is he gone?” Link asked, timidly.

 

“The cycle is broken. Demise is no more. You, Zelda, and all of Hyrule are finally free. The Triforce of Power has been been restored and has returned complete to the Temple of Time.” The woman said brightly.

 

“Free.” Link said, trying to comprehend the implications of the word. “What will I do now, mother?”

 

“Anything you want to, my sweet son. Anything you want to.” She said.

 

“Even if all I want to do is herd goats?” Link asked.

 

“Then you will be the best goat herd in all of Hyrule, and I wouldn't be any less proud of you than I am now.” The woman said.

 

“What about the Hero?” Link asked.

 

“It is time for the Hero to finally be allowed to rest.” She said, somewhat sadly. “He has served us, all of us, and we, even the gods, owe him greatly.”

 

“Mother,” Link began to ask, “who took Zelda from Hyrule when all this started and sent her to Earth?”

 

“I did.” Farore responded. “Din, Nayru, and I decided it was time we ended this cycle once and for all. Hylia and the Hero defended Hyrule for millennia while we did little to help. We thought it was for the best during those years.”

 

“What changed?” Link asked.

 

“Hyrule couldn't grow while the cycle continued. And we foresaw that if we allowed it to continue any longer, then our brother would eventually gain the upper hand, as he very nearly did this time. If that happened, everything we tried to build would have been lost forever. We couldn't allow that to happen.” Farore told him.

 

Link nodded, understanding. “Will I see you again?” He asked.

 

“I will always be watching over you, my little Link. You have my word.” With that, she vanished.

 

Look stood there in silence.

 

* * *

 

“I think he's coming around.” A voice said. It was a familiar friendly voice.

 

Link opened his eyes to see Shepherd staring down at him. He was lying on a bed in a large room. His tunic and chain mail had been pulled off of him and what wounds he had were bandaged neatly.

 

“What happened? Where am I?” Link asked.

 

“You're in Minas Tirith, in the hospital quarters, or what they call the 'houses of healing'.” Shepherd said. “We've been having a Hylian field medic tend your wounds. How're you feeling?”

 

“Strong enough. What happened to Demise?” Link asked.

 

“We thought you could tell us. From a distance all we could see was what looked like a small nuke going off. When we got to you, you were lying on the ground unconscious. There was no sign of anything else but a big smoking crater,” he then held up something in his hand and gave it to Link, “and this.”

 

Link turned the object over in his hand. It was the sapphire hilt of the Master Sword. The blade had been completely obliterated. Link pressed the hilt to his chest and said quietly, “Oh, Fi.”

 

“Master Link,” a disembodied voice said weakly.

 

“Fi?” Link asked.

 

“I regret to inform you that I am no longer able to perform my primary function, master Link,” Fi said.

 

“That's okay, Fi. You can rest now. We both can.” Link said.

 

“So, Demise is dead, right?” Shepherd asked.

 

“Yeah, I think so.” Link said.

 

“Affirmative, master Link. Demise's energy was weakened by the skyward strike you delivered. The skyward strike was influenced by the foreign sangraal jewel. His energy signature was completely canceled out upon full internal contact with my blade. I detected no trace of his energy signature after the explosion. I calculate a ninety-nine point nine nine percent chance that he is completely terminated.” Fi gave her report of the events.

 

“It's over then.” Shepherd said.

 

“It's over.” Link agreed.

 

Fi went silent as Link gripped the hilt tightly to his chest. “Good bye, old friend. Rest well.” He said. He then asked, “Now what happens?”

 

“Now, we rest and recover.” Shepherd said, “Sir Williams brought the third cavalry division through the linking book. From what he told me, Impa left for Hyrule castle right after she sent us through the book and told Zelda what was happening. She immediately sent out Williams and his men to help us. They landed in Lorien wondering where to go next when, according to him, they met a weird woman with green hair who cast a spell that immediately sent them within riding distance of the Pelennor fields where we happened to be. Convenient, huh?”

 

“Farore's Wind.” Link said.

 

“What was that?” Shepherd asked.

 

“'Farore's Wind', that's the name of the spell. It's a special blessing bestowed by the goddess.” Link said.

 

“Well, anyway, they mowed through the orcs on the field and broke their lines, then, when the explosion happened the orcs all started to make a run for it. We picked them off pretty easy after that. Minas Tirith was practically empty except for a few guards and a few thousand people in chains. We found the king chained up in the throne room. Our men started treating the injured as soon as they could. It'll take a while, but the city will stabilize. We've had trouble communicating with the locals, but they seem to understand that we're here to help. The king's been pretty traumatized by the whole thing, but he seems like a strong man, so I think he'll pull through.” Shepherd explained. “Sir Williams has already sent messengers back through the linking book to inform Hyrule Castle of what's happened and they've responded by sending supplies and men to help Gondor get back on its feet. The Third's to remain here for the time being until Gondor is stabilized and we're certain the threat is over. She wants to establish formal relations between Hyrule and Middle-Earth, so we'll see how it works out.”

 

Link did some quick math in his head. “How long have I been unconscious?” He asked.

 

“About two weeks.” Shepherd responded. “It was touch and go there for a while. You were pretty badly burnt and beat up after the explosion. We still can't figure out how you survived. We were lucky our field medics had good Hylian medicines with them. I think that was the only thing that pulled you through this.”

 

“You could have left me in the hands of Sir Williams and taken your own men home to Earth.” Link observed.

 

“We're not done here yet, and I don't leave any of my people behind.” Shepherd responded. “Get some rest,” he said, and then left Link to his thoughts.

 

* * *

 

It was another week before Link was well enough to travel again. In that time much had been accomplished, and the Hylian ambassador had been able to establish an embassy with Minas Tirith. The orcs had been hunted down and driven back into Mordor. King Eldarion was immensely grateful for everything the Hylians had done for them and offered every cooperation that he could.

 

Finally, more than a month after they had first set foot in Middle Earth, the seven companions linked back to the Temple of Time in Hyrule, where Impa awaited them.

 

“I see you accomplished your mission and survived.” Impa said.

 

“Yeah. Now, if it's all the same to you, we'd like to go home.” Shepherd said.

 

“Of course, but do you really want to return to the Earth of the present? When you've been gone for six years?” Impa asked.

 

“What do you mean?” McKay asked. “What other choice do we have since you stranded us here?”

 

“I told you before, twice, Doctor McKay. Travel through time is easy for this place.” Impa remarked. With a wave of her hand, the gateway emerged from it's place in the floor and began to rotate.

 

“Wait! The stargate was ruined when we left, how did you...?” McKay began to ask.

 

“Learn to play the game by its own rules, Doctor McKay.” Impa told him.

 

“Here,” she handed a piece of paper to Shepherd, “give this to me on the other side. I'll know what to do from there.”

 

“Okay....” Shepherd said. “That's just a little weird.”

 

“Forget about it,” said McKay, “let's just get home.”

 

“So, I guess this is good-bye?” Shepherd turned to Link and held out his hand, which Link took. “You going to be okay?”

 

“Yeah, I think I am.” Link said with a smile. “It was good to know you, Colonel Shepherd.”

 

“And you, Link.” Shepherd said. “If you ever need us, you know where to find us.” He waved good-bye as the six men from Earth stepped into the watery image and disappeared.

 

* * *

 

They emerged out the other side immediately and thought something had gone wrong because it looked like they hadn't gone anywhere.

 

“Well?” Impa asked them.

 

“Uh, didn't we just...?” Shepherd asked, then he remembered the letter and handed it to her.

 

She opened it and read it carefully, then closed it again as her eyes went wide. “Extraordinary.” She exclaimed. “I had hoped it would work, but I was never certain. Hylia's plans are often very risky. Please, follow me.”

 

She led them up the stairs and into the library. She moved quickly to the bookshelf with the linking books and pulled a small volume from the shelf. She opened the book to the back panel. “Here we are. You and your men have my gratitude and the gratitude of all of Hyrule. It is a pity that we may not be seeing each other again for a long time. You must not attempt to return here for at least six years, otherwise everything that has been accomplished may be undone.” Impa said.

 

Shepherd nodded, getting a headache from the implications of what she said.

 

McKay then spoke up with a sudden realization, “are you saying that Zelda planned this whole thing, to trap us here and use us? That ten year old kid, well she's ten right now, did this?”

 

Impa smiled impishly. “You can't play the game if you don't know the rules, doctor, now can you?”

 

“That's enough Rodney. Let's just go home.” Shepherd said, stopping McKay in mid-sentence. They all clasped hands with each other as Shepherd touched the panel and whizzed back to the underground caverns of D'ni.

 

* * *

 

“Colonel Shepherd, please report to my office.” Woolsey's voice rang out over Atlantis' intercom. It had been a week since the six men had returned. According to Daniel, whom they met in the ancient library upon their return, it had only been a day since they had left with Link. He was as surprised as anyone when they appeared in medieval armor carrying swords and shields instead of their standard issue weapons. Their debriefing back at Atlantis had been the stuff of legends.

 

Shepherd entered Woolsey's office, “yes?” he asked. His voice still carried something of a Hylian accent after so many years speaking their language. Someone remarked that it sounded like a strange mixture of Japanese and British English accents. Shepherd was working hard to get rid of it.

 

“Come in Colonel, have a seat.” Woolsey said in as friendly a manner as he could. “Are you readjusting well?”

 

“Yeah, yeah I'm getting back into it okay. Truth is, I didn't do much different there than I do here.” He said.

 

“That's good to hear. I hear doctor McKay has begun writing down some of the research into Hylian science and magic he studied while he was there. It should prove interesting.” Woolsey said.

 

“That's great. Why'd you call me in here?” Shepherd asked.

 

“It seems that, in the last week or so, Nintendo, the makers of the Legend of Zelda series, which I'm certain you are intimately familiar with by now...” Woolsey began.

 

“Yeah, intimately.” Shepherd assented.

 

“It seems that they have released a new Zelda game. Dr. Lee first brought it to my attention a few days ago, and then the Pentagon became involved.” Woolsey explained. “They wanted to know if we had a leak in our mission reports. I had to assure them in no uncertain terms that it was impossible. The details of your mission to Hyrule are known only to a very few people.”

 

“What's in the game?” Shepherd asked, not really wanting to know the answer.

 

“Well, for starters, there are six new playable characters from a distant world who become stranded in Hyrule for six years and then have to take Link and battle the Demon King in a final battle in Middle Earth. Sound familiar?” Woolsey asked.

 

“You don't think I would've leaked classified information on a mission, do you?” Shepherd asked, taking offense.

 

“No, of course not. I know you better than that. Fortunately, a few phone calls were made to the company and they discovered that the game has been under development for the last six years. The air force has stepped in and discreetly asked the company to at least change a few of the names of the characters. They cited certain copyright violations. Nintendo has agreed to the changes and all seems well.” Woolsey said. “I thought you might want to check it out.”

 

Shepherd's head was spinning. “What's it called?”

 

Woolsey responded, “'The Legend of Zelda: Pathways of the Ancestors'.”


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

 

Eight years after the defeat of Demise in Middle Earth...

 

“Drat!” The old woman spat. “Drat! Drat! And more drat!” The sun hadn't yet revealed itself in the crisp cool morning. The sky was just beginning to fill with purple gold.

 

Behind her, a young, strapping, dark haired soldier in a sharp gray uniform emblazoned with the Hylian crest ran to her side. “Your grace, are you all right?!” He shouted with alarm.

 

“No, I am not all right. Someone has stolen all of my mushrooms!” She said with irate disgust.

 

The soldier looked incredulous as he stopped in his tracks. “Your mushrooms, your grace?”

 

“Yes, my mushrooms! I needed more mushrooms for healing potion. There was a whole batch of them right here under this tree just yesterday, and now they're all gone. Someone's gone and stolen my whole patch of mushrooms!” The old woman said indignantly. “How could you and your men let someone slip into the Sacred Grove and steal them?”

 

“Your grace, I assure you, no one has entered this grove since yesterday.” Trying to contain his amusement, the thirtyish dark haired, mustachioed soldier bent down to inspect the ground in an attempt to humor the ancient lady. All he could see was the dark mossy soil at the base of the tree. He put his white gloved fingers down to feel the soil and felt something slimy cover the fingertips. Pulling his fingers back to look at them, the substance was black and sticky, like fruit or vegetables that had rotted and sat for weeks. “Your grace, I don't think anyone has stolen them. I think they've rotted away. Look.” He said to her, standing up and showing her his fingertips.

 

Impa looked at the black smears on his gloved fingers. “Oh.” She said. She then looked more closely at the soil where the mushrooms had been, and the tree, and the plants around her. Signs of the oily blackness were like fine, inky lines running through the very veins of the leaves and branches. “Oh, no.” She said slowly and in a low, horrified voice. “How did I miss this?”

 

“Your grace, what's wrong? Is there anything I can do to help?” The soldier asked earnestly.

 

He was a good man, she thought. Link said the Sacred Grove's new guards to take the place of the fallen Skull Kid were Hyrule's finest. He meant well, she knew. “No, Oliver. There's nothing you or even I can do about this now.” She felt every moment of her considerable age in that one moment.

 

“What's wrong?” He asked her.

 

“Damn! Why didn't I see it before now?” She wondered out loud in exasperation, ignoring the younger man's question. “I need to take the train to Hyrule Castle right now. I need to see the princess immediately.” Impa told him. Hyrule's steam train system was still relatively new, but the trains connected all of Hyrule's far flung provinces. It was yet another one of the products of that McKay fellow's research. “No, wait. The train's too slow. I'm sorry, Oliver, but I have to use Farore's wind so you can't join me.”

 

“Your grace, she will be busy with the preparations for the coronation.” He responded. “The whole world is coming to see her crowned queen of Hyrule.”

 

“No, Oliver. If we don't find a way to stop this... blight, then there won't be a Hyrule for her to be queen of.” Impa responded in a tired voice. She brought a green shimmering jewel out from within her cloak, called out the name of the goddess, and threw the jewel at her feet. In a flash of green light, she was gone, leaving the bewildered guard captain to contemplate the old woman's words.

 

Captain Oliver then called another guard officer over to him. He pulled out a sheet of paper from a pocket in his uniform and began writing on it furiously with an ink pen he produced from another pocket. When he was satisfied with his message, he rolled it up and handed it to his underling telling him, “He will probably know about this before the hawk gets to him, but nevertheless, send this message to Supreme Commander Link by hawk immediately.”

 

“Right away, sir.” The underling said, taking the rolled up sheet of paper and departing.

 

* * *

 

It was the early hours of the morning when Link's eyes opened to the soft golden rays of light which had found their way through the glass of their bed chamber windows. The room was still mostly dark, but warm from the nearly dead embers of the fireplace across from the bed.

 

He turned his head on his pillow casually and slowly to the right so as not to disturb the beautiful, flame-haired, one time farm girl who still slept soundly, snuggled comfortably against him in her nightgown. Her breaths came delicately through her partly opened, finely sculpted lips. He did nothing to disturb the sight of her peaceful sleep. He dared do nothing. The goddesses knew she earned every moment of peaceful sleep she could get. Their twin sons saw to that.

 

There was a time when she would have been awake before the sun was, but that was several years ago in another life, it seemed. Her feminine but strong hands had been calloused in those days from many early mornings milking her father's cows and breaking the finest horses anywhere within the borders of Hyrule. Now most of those callouses had disappeared as a result of Malon's new life as the wife of the Supreme Commander of Hyrule's Armed Forces. There were still times though when he caught her scrubbing her own floors here in the castle. He wouldn't have had her any other way. She would always be the most beautiful woman in Hyrule to him, especially with dirt on her hands and sweat in her hair.

 

Link had first met Malon when he went to see her father Talon about a breeding contract for horses for Hyrule's cavalry. Malon's father was the owner of Lon Lon ranch in Hyrule field not far from Castle Town. Her mother had died in childbirth the same year her majesty, Zelda's mother, also died in childbirth. It was a strange, dark coincidence that when the two learned of it created a bond between them as friends that Link never understood but was glad of.

 

Malon had been in the corral breaking a horse, and he fell in love with her the moment he saw her. They were married by his majesty, King Gaepora, who insisted on performing the ceremony himself in the castle's great hall under the great images of the Triforce and the goddesses Din, Nayru, and Link's adopted mother, Farore. In fact, his majesty was so involved with the wedding, one would have thought it had been one of his own children who was getting married, though Link never considered himself to have that kind of a relationship with his late majesty.

 

It was still a rare day though for him to be awake this early, but then again he hadn't slept much in the past few nights. Too much to plan, and too much to think about. Nothing in his memory, at any time of his extended memories, had prepared him for this. Those memories were of a Hyrule in desperate times. Those memories were always of a Hyrule on the verge of total destruction. But this Hyrule, his Hyrule, was a land that had been at peace for many years now. And now, so unlike all those lifetimes before, the crown was passing peacefully from father to daughter and there was no precedent for Link to draw upon.

 

His majesty had passed away nearly a month ago, peacefully from a long illness and in his sleep. Her highness Zelda had declared a month of mourning for the much loved king, but Zelda could not remain merely a princess forever. Hyrule needed her king... or queen. The coronation ceremony was, thankfully, not today. But it would be before noon tomorrow. All the heads of the different races and nations of this world in alliance with Hyrule castle would be in attendance, if not to do homage, then to express their support and friendship with the newly crowned queen. It was a nightmare that Link had been dreading for twenty nine days.

 

Link wasn't a diplomat. He was absolutely lousy at protocol, and often felt like a total fool and buffoon at state dinners, banquets, and social occasions around the elites, the nobles, and visiting royalty. No, he was a swordsman, a warrior with the instincts and memories of a hundred other “Links” in a chain which went back to the very foundations of their kingdom. He would gladly charge into hundreds of drooling, snarling bloodthirsty monsters (and had before on several occasions), rather than sit for an hour exchanging meaningless pleasantries with well dressed fools. Malon was much better at playing the part than he was, and she was often the only one who could talk him into attending short of Zelda ordering him to make an appearance. If it wasn't Zelda's coronation, he would have gladly found somewhere, anywhere else to be.

 

In the room next to theirs, he could hear the gentle snoring noises of his two boys, Talon and John. The two five year old boys were both orange haired spitting images of himself, much to the consternation of their mother and the palace servants. Sometimes, it seemed the only one besides himself who wasn't off-put by their daredevil stunts and mischievous natures was the princess Zelda. Whenever she looked at the boys, no matter what they did, it was always with quiet approval. Malon, red with embarrassment on more than one occasion, had apologized to her highness repeatedly when the boys had barreled past the princess in the halls of the castle forcing her to move out of the way to keep from being knocked over. Again and again, he only response had been, “I am only thankful that the Hero's courage runs strong in them. I am glad Hyrule will have Link's bloodlines to continue to protect her.”

 

Link quietly slipped out of bed, his bare feet making no sound as they hit the plush carpet. In his nightgown, he went to the window and opened it allowing the fresh, cool spring air to flow into the bed chamber.

 

From the window, he could see the electric lamps still lit in the courtyard of the castle far below him. Guards in sharp, gray Hylian uniforms patrolled, muskets in arm, swords that were far more than ceremonial hung at their waists. Years ago, these guards might not have even known how to use their blades against an enemy (much less the muskets). Link had put a stop to that. He had trained these castle guards himself. Now, they had to be able to hold their own against him with a blade in order to serve in the castle guard. He demanded no less in the protection of the royal family. And, as his own family now resided within these walls, he demanded no less in their protection either. The muskets though... that was a different man who had trained all of them, including him, with that weapon. That was the good man, the good friend, for whom his second son (by minutes) was named.

 

All was as it should be in the courtyard below. In the east, the sun rose slowly, just coming up over Death Mountain. The sky was filled with flaming golden light. One by one, the electric lamps winked out as the sun crept higher. They and the muskets had been the innovations of another man. Link chuckled at the thought of what Rodney would say if he saw how Hyrule was putting the fruits of his labors to use. And not just this kingdom benefited. The princess saw to it that all those peoples with whom they had treaties, even Gondor in Middle Earth, had access to the technologies Hyrule did.

 

Link turned from the window to face the opposing wall. Hanging from a set of gilded hooks was what remained of an old and dear friend that he had known through a hundred lifetimes since the very beginning. Her blade was gone, shattered in the explosion which had finally broken the cycle and ended Demise's curse upon their world. No one, not even Impa, knew what to do with just the sapphire hilt, so he took it and kept it safe in his own chambers so it would always be close to him. Fi, the “spirit” of the sword was gone, but he refused to allow her to be forgotten.

 

The Master Sword had been the Hero's blade since it was reborn by dragon fire fully forged from the goddess sword thousands of years ago. It was the only sword capable of fighting and defeating Demise and his incarnations for those thousands of years. It had been known in myth and legend as the blade of evil's bane. But now the cycle was broken, and the Hero would finally be allowed to rest with his sword. Link could, and did, have a family. He could grow old and wrinkled. Sooner or later, he would be join Fi and be laid to rest. He had given instructions that when his time came, she would be buried with him. It was only fitting that, just as the sword and the Hero had started their journey together, so they would end it together.

 

A flash of memory, and once again he found himself facing the twisted gray face of his enemy. The Master Sword held tight in his hand as he rammed it into the hell spawned demon. A bright flash of light filled his vision, and then pain, and then darkness. He buried his face in his hands to clear the memory from his mind's eye.

 

He came out of it and crossed to his closet to dress in his every day palace uniform. He had insisted to Zelda that it not be some ridiculous lacy costume like he had seen many of the courtiers wear. Instead, it was a rather simple gray and blue coat and trousers emblazoned with the Hyrule royal crest on the shoulders, and the gold bars which indicated his rank on the collar. It was tight fitting, but not so tight that he couldn't move to fight if the need arose, even if it was to only spar with his men. Off to one side in the closet hung a green tunic, steel chain mail, and green cap. He hadn't worn it for years now, but her highness insisted he keep it ready and at hand.

 

The Hero, he, was supposed to be able to rest now. The cycle had been broken and the land was at peace, but Zelda was insistent on keeping him by her side, and keeping the symbols of the Hero within arms reach at all times, whether he wanted them or not. So there in the closet the forest green tunic hung. But, like Fi's hilt, it seemed to be just waiting to be laid to rest with him. Perish the thought that the Hero should be buried in anything else but his “fighting greens.”

 

But both would have to wait for him. The Hero may be laid to rest, but Link still had his family, and a sworn duty to Zelda. With Malon, Talon and John, at the age of twenty five he had a lot of living still to do.

 

He dressed slowly so as to let Malon sleep as long as she wanted to.

 

* * *

 

Fully dressed, Link left his bed chambers and followed the hall past his boys' bedroom towards the turret railing which opened out to a small terrace which gave a stunning view of Hyrule field. It was a view he tended to love. Except he found that he was not to be alone there this morning. His boots were not quiet on the polished wood floor, and the blond haired young woman in her royal day clothes turned to greet him. “Oh Link, good you're up. I was hoping to catch you this morning.” Zelda said, with a knowing gleam in her eye.

 

In other words, she's been waiting here for me, he thought to himself. “How may I serve you, your highness?” Link asked.

 

“Must you be so formal when it is just the two of us? With the considerable history we both share together?” Zelda chided him.

 

“I'm sorry, Zelda. What's on your mind?” Link corrected himself.

 

“We're to have a briefing this morning about the coronation ceremony tomorrow. I want you to be there to share any insights you may have.” Zelda told him.

 

“I don't think I would have any...” Link started to say, trying to get out of it as painlessly as possible.

 

“Nonsense. There will be heads of state from all over this world, as well as guests from Middle Earth and Termina. As Supreme Commander of Hyrule's Armed Forces, ensuring their safety is your top priority.” She said in a stern voice. “You will be there.”

 

“As you wish, your highness.” Link conceded in defeat. It didn't matter that he had already laid out the plans for the coronation's security. It would be held in the Great Hall with a hundred of his best, hand-picked men watching the guests with eagle eyes. Hundreds more would be patrolling the rest of the castle and the castle's perimeter. He would take no chances with Zelda's, or his family's safety. Zelda is like family to me as well, he thought to himself. Throughout his past lives, she had always been his princess and the incarnation of the goddess Hylia, but she had also been by turns a good friend, a companion, a wife, and a sister in the thousands of years they had come and gone in the legend's cycle. Zelda and he were bound together just as much as Malon and his two sons, maybe even more.

 

Zelda nodded and silently turned towards the open landscape in front of her. Link stood there for several minutes waiting for her to dismiss him. He knew that she probably wouldn't mind if he just quietly went his own way, but there was something about her demeanor that said he should stay by her.

 

“Do you ever wonder what purpose we serve now?” Zelda asked him, breaking her silence, her eyes staring off into the distance.

 

“Your highness?” Link asked in confusion. Although, he felt he knew what she meant.

 

Zelda continued, “The Demon King has been destroyed and will not return. The cycle is broken. The Triforce is safe. Hyrule can grow and thrive like it was always meant to. What need is there for the wise princess and the courageous hero in this new age?”

 

“I suppose we just try to get on with our own lives.” Link responded thoughtfully after a pause. “Hyrule is free, and we are free with it to live however we want. I intend to live as happily ever after as I can with my family in a way none of the Hero's previous incarnations could.”

 

“Is it really that easy? Would fate really be so kind to us?” She turned to face him and Link saw there were tears running down her cheeks. “Hylia chose to be reborn as a mortal girl to protect Hyrule when it needed her most. Now, there is no more need for her... no more need for me to remain bound here to this mortal world.”

 

“We are in a new age, with unknown obstacles,” he said, “sometimes it's easier to face the battles you know than the peace you don't.” He then added, “Hyrule needs its queen.”

 

“And I thought my gift was wisdom,” she chuckled through her tears, looking at the black triangle birthmark on the back of her left hand. “I wish I had your courage, Link.” Zelda told him.

 

Distant memories of past Zeldas raced through his mind. He had never thought of the princess in any other way but as courageous, and he told her so.

 

“That's too kind,” she said, wiping her tears with her sleeve.. “We have been on this journey together for a very long time, and in many different ways, you and I. Haven't we?”

 

“Yes we have, your highness.” Link responded. Maybe that was why he was hesitant to break protocol with her now. He was married to Malon, and he loved his wife dearly. But he and Zelda had shared a relationship which spanned thousands of years, and went more intimate than Malon could or did know. He would not do anything which could conceivably come back to hurt his wife, and Zelda knew it.

 

“Let us promise each other then, that no matter what happens, we will see this through to the end as we began it. Together.” She said.

 

“I will always be there to protect you, and Hyrule, my princess.” Link said.

 

Zelda's face darkened as she said, “Don't promise what you can't be certain of, Link.” There was some knowledge Link saw flash in her eyes that he didn't understand. “But do promise that you will never give up on me, or this land.”

 

“I swear it on my life, your highness.” Link said, meaning every word.

 

Zelda smiled, then quickly stood up on her tip toes and gave Link a small, affectionate kiss on the cheek, saying, “I'm glad you and Malon found each other, my friend. I will see you at the briefing at the second hour.” She then walked quietly off, her slippered feet making no noise as she moved, leaving Link to his own thoughts.

 

* * *

 

The sun had risen to the second hour after dawn, and Link had stopped by the castle kitchens for a quick bite to eat before making his way to the early morning “briefing.” He wished it was actually a military briefing, finishing off his pumpkin spice muffin as he stood outside the closed wooden door, taking a deep breath to steel himself before entering. It unfortunately wasn't to be a military briefing at all. It was in fact a scheduled planning session for the coronation, and had Zelda herself not herself personally requested that he be there, he would have gladly slept in, or been out at the training grounds overseeing new recruits, or volunteering to watch his twin boys, or jumping into the caldera of Death Mountain just to go for a swim. There were times he sincerely missed having some incarnation of the Demon King running amok in Hyrule. This was shaping up to be one of them.

 

The second most powerful leader in all of Hyrule summoned all of his considerable courage, and opened the door expecting to be assaulted by stylists, decorators, and a riot of last minute inconsequential details that had nothing to do with him. Instead he found his monarch sitting at the head of a long marble conference table with an ancient and familiar face seated next to her. There was no one else in the stately chamber.

 

“Link, good, come in.” Impa welcomed him, motioning with her hand for him to sit in the carved wooden chair next to her.

 

“Your grace?” Link questioned, surprised.

 

“Yes, boy, it's me, or is your mind addled with all these preparations for the ceremony?” She then patted the chair with her hand. “Come. Sit. We need to talk.”

 

Link obediently sat down in the chair next to her, and faced her and his monarch. He had no idea what this unexpected, and unexplained visit could be about, except for the coronation. But everything about Zelda's worried expression told him there were far more serious matters than a mere crown. It would take more than a coronation to get the Sage of Time to leave her sacred grove.

 

Zelda's fingers were pressed hard against the marble table as she searched for the words to begin. Link had rarely ever seen her so concerned, and the goddesses knew she had been given much over her considerable existence to be concerned about.

 

“We have a serious problem, Link.” Zelda began.

 

“Hmmph, that's an understatement.” Impa quipped sarcastically.

 

Link immediately began to tense. “What kind of problem?” He asked.

 

“The Sacred Realm is dying.” Impa answered for her. “And if the Sacred Realm dies, so does Hyrule as well as all the Realms linked to her. The Twili, Termina, the Dark Realm, everything and everyone in them will die.”

 

Link was stunned as the implications of what she said struck him. “How? Why? What happened?”

 

“There's a blight that's spreading, boy. I first saw it with my magic mushrooms in the grove this morning. They're all dead; rotted away. The magic has rotted and died within them.” Impa said.

 

“Your mushrooms rotted?” Link said, not understanding how her personal garden wilting had anything to do with the fate of the world.

 

“No, the magic's rotted. Magic flows throughout Hyrule and connects it to all the other Realms. It binds and holds the Realms together and flows through all living things within them. The magic flows from the Sacred Realm, and there's a corruption spreading from the inside of the Sacred Realm. It's bleeding out into every living thing in our world. It's starting small, but soon it will spread to everything. We need to restore the balance within the Sacred Realm. We need to return the Triforce to the Sacred Realm in order to heal it, and save our world.” Impa explained.

 

“How did this happen?” Link asked.

 

“Long ago, as you may remember, the Demon King was imprisoned in the Sacred Realm where you, Hero, went to defeat him and prevent his return.” The sage began, “Not as long ago, but long enough, the two of you imprisoned him again when you sealed Ganon there. His evil began to seep into the Sacred Realm like a poison.” She took a deep breath and then let it out. She seemed tired, and every bit as ancient as she most likely was. “It has saturated the Sacred Realm now to the point where it is seeping into Hyrule.”

 

Link took this information in. It was their fault; Link's, Zelda's, the Sages', all of them. They caused this. “The Triforce needs to be returned? Then that's what we'll do.” Link said decisively. The solution didn't appear that difficult to him. “You have the Triforce of power locked in the Temple of Time, and Zelda and I still retain the Triforces of Wisdom and Courage. We can leave for the Temple as soon as possible.” He said, looking at them both hopefully.

 

Zelda looked him straight in the eyes and slowly, sadly, solemnly shook her head.

 

“No? Why not?” Link asked.

 

“In order to re-enter the Sacred Realm, boy, we must have the key.” Impa said sadly.

 

“So where is the key?” Link asked. “Who has it?”

 

“You do, Link.” Zelda responded. “Or at least what's left of it, hanging on your bedroom wall.”

 

Link looked with confusion until comprehension broke over him. “Oh no.” He said.

 

“Now do you understand, boy? The key has been destroyed. And by sunset tomorrow night, so will Hyrule be.” Impa said with a voice like the grave.

 

Link stood up and began pacing up and down the length of the chamber. “No, no, no, no...” He kept saying. “No, there has to be something we can do!” He said angrily and loudly. He, Zelda, and Hyrule finally had a future, and now from beyond oblivion the damned Demon King was going to have his final revenge? No! Not if he could do anything about it. He didn't come back time and time again for thousands of years to allow Demise to win in the end.

 

“And what would that be, boy?” Impa replied. “There has only ever been one Master Sword, and the Realms of this world were always intertwined with it. The blade was shattered, and the blade must be inserted into the pedestal to open the Sacred Realm. There is no other way.”

 

“The blade must be inserted?” Link repeated, his mind racing.

 

“What are you thinking, Link?” Zelda asked, a faint glimmer of hope in her eyes.

 

“Can the blade be reforged? If it was reforged would it work?” Link asked hopefully.

 

“That was no ordinary blade boy!” Impa raised her voice. “It was forged by the ancient goddess Hylia herself thousands of years ago!” Impa looked at Zelda. “No one in this world now knows how it was made, much less how to do it again. Even the goddess herself doesn't remember!” Impa motioned to Zelda with her hand.

 

“I wasn't thinking of anyone in this world.” Link responded with hope in his voice.

 

Zelda and Impa both just looked at him incredulously until the meaning of his words broke over them. “Is it possible?” Zelda asked Impa.

 

Impa thought for few minutes. “Maybe. With the Triforce of Power, maybe. But we have very little time to get you to the Temple, boy. We can't wait. You'll need to get dressed.”

 

“Get dressed?” Link asked. “I thought we didn't have the time?”

 

“We can't take the chance of them not recognizing you in that silly guard's uniform. You need to be in your greens when you step through the portal.” Impa said, standing up.

 

“It's been nine years. A lot might have changed for them.” Link said. It certainly had for him, Zelda, and the rest of Hyrule.

 

“It will have been fifteen for them by now.” Impa corrected him. “Don't ask me to explain. But you're right. I will have to make certain adjustments to the portal. Now go, and tell your lovely young wife you'll be back before the coronation tomorrow morning, and give those sweet boys of yours a hug from me.”

 

Link looked at her in surprise.

 

“What are you standing there for, go get dressed!” Impa ordered him sternly. “We have a train to catch!”

 

* * *

 

The morning train flew fast and furious across Hyrule field towards the Faron woods and the system of lifts and bridges which had been built to make entry into the Sacred Grove less challenging than it had been for the guards on watch who were rotated in and out. The train system had only been built within the last few years. Hyrule as a whole was a geographically small kingdom, and the magic-fired steam powered trains were capable of getting anyone anywhere within it or its surrounding provinces within an hour.

 

Link watched the countryside speed past him faster than even Epona could have run. He hated leaving his faithful companion in the stable, but time was now of the essence. Seated in the passenger coach with him was Impa. There was no one else. This engine and single passenger car had been commandeered by the Supreme Commander for himself and Impa alone, much to the consternation of the other waiting passengers, many of whom he knew personally. It couldn't be helped, and he didn't have the time to give them an adequate explanation. He gave the order for it to leave the moment he and Impa were on board.

 

Link flexed his fingers as he looked at the leather gauntlets which covered his hands and forearms. He hadn't worn them in a long, long time, and had grown unaccustomed to them. The gauntlet completely covered up his triangular birthmark on the back of his left hand, the one which had defined who he was and what role he played as fate demanded of him. The chain mail felt heavier on him than he remembered as well. Was he getting soft? He wondered. His mind returned to less than an hour before as he pulled it on.

 

“Where are you going?” Malon had asked him just as he was pulling his green tunic over the mail. He was still facing the closet, and she was standing behind him. Her voice constricted with worry.

 

“The Sacred Grove,” Link replied, not turning around. How was he going to explain this to her? How could he? “Her grace, Impa, requested that I join her there.” It wasn't a lie, it just wasn't everything.

 

“She wanted you there ready for a fight?” Malon asked, her voice beginning to raise. Link knew his wife to be many things. A fool was not one of them. Link hadn't worn his mail and Hero's clothes for years, and she knew it. She also knew what it meant when she suddenly found him dressed in them. “What has happened?” She asked. He could hear her trying to regain control of her voice.

 

Link was silent for a short time, unsure of how much to say. He then said simply and solemnly, “Hyrule needs me.” And let the implications of that single sentence hang in the air.

 

“I see.” She replied calmly. With his back to her, he couldn't see what reaction was spreading across her face. He could only imagine it, and what he imagined pained his heart. He didn't have the courage to face that, Triforce or no.

 

He then felt her arms around his waist, and her body warmly pressed against his back in a passionate and protective embrace. “Come back to me, Hero.” Malon said with quiet loving. “When it is all over, make sure you come back to me.” She whispered gently into his ear.

 

“I will.” He replied to her, turning to face her. There were the tears he had hoped to not cause, they ran like tiny streams down her resolute face as she tried to be strong. He put his own leather armored arms around her waist and pressed his lips to hers lovingly and passionately. “Always.” he said as he pulled away. “I will always come back to you.”

 

She smiled sadly, looked into his eyes and said, “Don't make promises we both know you don't have control over, Hero.” Her words echoed Zelda's words from earlier that morning. In some ways, the two women were so alike they could be sisters. Malon then buried her head in his green tunic, staining it with her tears, and he embraced her tightly to himself, kissing the top of her head, and stroking her hair with his hand.

 

After a short time she pushed away from his embrace and, wiping her eyes with her hands, she walked over to the opposing wall where hung the sapphire hilt. Malon nodded her head reverently before the sacred relic and whispered a quiet prayer to the goddess that forged it that she might protect her husband. She then just as reverently lifted it from its gilded hooks and brought it over to present it to her husband.

 

“You're going to need this then.” She said to him. “Go. Bring her back whole.”

 

The woman misses nothing, Link thought as the memory ran through his mind. He still had no idea how she knew, neither did he ask. After six years of marriage, he had learned it was better not to.

 

Link continued to stare out the window at the landscape. In the seat across from him, Impa held her eyes closed and remained silent throughout the trip, leaving him to his own thoughts as he dared not disturb hers.

 

* * *

 

It took an hour to reach the Sacred Grove and the Temple of Time once they reached the Faron Province station. Link's men saluted when they saw him, but then he heard their quiet whispers as he passed by. His dress had caused something of a stir, not disrespect, but alarm. The whispers when he caught them went something like, “Something bad must be coming for him to be wearing that.” It didn't inspire him with confidence.

 

Once again, he and Impa faced the doors which seemed so out of place among the ruins of the once great temple. But he knew that the doors were anything but ordinary as Impa sang them open and they passed through into the temple in another time outside of time.

 

Once inside, Impa left him waiting in the gilded marble main hall while she went and made the preparations. He knew that, inside the temple, time meant nothing, but it still felt like her preparations were taking far too long for what time they had. He was left to sitting on a marble bench while he waited.

 

When she returned she carried a folded piece of paper in one hand and a leather satchel decorated with sacred gold glyphs in the other. “Here, take this and keep it safe.” Impa handed him the piece of paper.

 

“What is this?” Link said as he unfolded it. On it was inscribed ten symbols which he didn't recognize right away.

 

“Put that away in your pouch, boy. You must give it to Rodney McKay. “Impa told him. “That is your ticket back here to this time and place. I can't give you a linking book because it make take more time there than we have here. You'll have all the time you need to reforge the sword while you're in their world, but these symbols entered into their portal will return you here just after you leave. Once you return, the clock starts again. Do you understand?” Impa said to him with as much gravity as she could impress upon him.

 

“I thought you didn't know how to bring me back through.” Link said, remembering the warning she gave him the last time he stepped through to the other world.

 

She looked exasperated with him, then said, “After McKay left us, Princess Zelda had the foresight to send me his journals from Hyrule Castle for safekeeping. The man was kind enough to write down in those journals enough information on how their portal works for me to come up with these. I only hope they have enough power to make the connection work from their end.”

 

“Yes, I understand.” Link replied.

 

“Good, now understand this, Link. The Triforce, all three essences of the Triforce must be returned to the Sacred Realm before sundown tomorrow. That gives you about a day and a half from now in this world. Those symbols should bring you back when I said they would, but in truth I've never tried this before. I don't know if anyone has. I am placing a clock in front of the time portal where you will be able to see it to tell you how much time you have left once you return. Hopefully I will still be standing here setting it up when you step back through.”

 

“I understand.” Link replied.

 

“It is the essence of the Triforce which matters Link. You must take the essence of the Triforce into the Sacred Realm. Once you return, nothing else matters.” Impa said.

 

“What about Zelda's piece of the Triforce? The Triforce of Wisdom?” Link asked. “Shouldn't she be waiting here for me to return?”

 

“There are a large number of guests due to arrive between now and the coronation through the linking book. It is necessary for her to be there in the Castle to greet them. And the Castle is still the safest place for her to be. I will send word for the princess to come here by Farore's wind as soon as you return. We will attempt to extract the Triforce pieces from the both of you and rejoin it then. Until then, she and it are safest where they are.”

 

She went to the pedestal which once held the Master Sword. Lifting up the leather satchel she withdrew a golden triangle that pulsed and shone with it's own inner power. The whole hall seemed to become subdued and solemn as it was revealed, and Link bowed his head in reverence for Din's gift, the Triforce of Power. She placed it on top of the pedestal placing her hand over it and whispering an incantation. The sacred triangle glowed and light seemed to flow from it into the pedestal. Impa then began pressing indentations on the pedestal and the floor opened up in front of them. In front of them a great ring rose out of the floor and began spinning, symbols on the outside of the ring lighting up.

 

“What do you mean 'attempt' to extract the Triforce from she and I?” Link asked uncertainly.

 

Just then a vortex of what resembled water and light whooshed from the ring out in front of them and then back in.

 

“We're in uncharted territory yet again, boy.” Impa said, her eyes on the portal. “I am no goddess, and it is the goddesses alone who truly understand the Triforce and why it does what it does. Power, Wisdom, and Courage are the gifts of the goddesses for us, their children, to live our lives, care for one another, and do what's right. A person cannot have power without the wisdom to know what to do with it and the courage to actually do it. They cannot be wise without the courage to do what they know is right and the power to be successful in that endeavor. Likewise, they cannot be courageous and powerless to do anything or unwise and do stupid things with their courage*. We ourselves must become the embodiment, the incarnation of the Triforce in order to fulfill their will. It is when these virtues are thrown out of balance that we are thrown out of balance and our land falls into chaos.”

 

“Oh, and they certainly won't be expecting you yet.” She said, bringing a leather pouch out from under her red robes.

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“I'm sending you back to their world thirteen years in the past, so only two years would have passed for them. I can't be more accurate than that under the circumstances, but it should be close enough for them to still recognize you, and remember us.” She explained.

 

She then untied the string which bound the leather pouch, exposing a silvery powder and flung the powdery contents into the open portal.

 

“What was that?” Link asked.

 

“That was to make sure you emerged in one piece on the other side.” Impa replied. “They have some protection from uninvited guests.”

 

Link nodded, then tucked the paper into a pouch on his belt. Without looking back, he went up the steps and stepped through the shimmering blue light.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*Quotation by Impa is from _The Hyrulean Pantheon_ by Jennie Smith (The Wolfess) and published at http://www.zeldadungeon.net/the-hyrulian-pantheon/

 


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

 

The damned game again. Shepherd just couldn't escape it, no matter how hard he tried. If it wasn't Rodney's brother in law and niece, then it was Bill Lee trying to get him to play it.

 

“I just can't watch anyone play that game, let alone play it myself. It's just too weird.” He told Bill in response. The day was bright and sunny in the South Pacific Ocean, and they were out fishing off of Atlantis's east pier. The water was calm, and what waves there were lapped gently against the sides of the pier. Overhead, the city's cloaking shield shimmered against the sky. No one outside the shield could see the kilometers wide, floating ancient city. All they would see is empty ocean.

 

To be honest, Shepherd would have preferred sparring with Teyla or Ronan, but they were on leave visiting the Hawaiian islands for the first time with Carson Beckett and Ronan's girlfriend. So, fishing with Dr. Lee it was.

 

Bill had just cast his line into the water. “Well, it's a great game, that's all I'm saying. You know it won game of the year two years running.” He said defensively, “you should really give it a chance. Besides, it's not like you're the actual character; well, I mean okay, yeah I guess it's supposed to be you, but the character's got a different name, and it's not like he's playable anyway.”

 

“Nah, it was enough to watch Jeanie's family run Link around on the screen, and to hear her husband tell me how much the guy on the screen looked like me.” He and Rodney, Atlantis's chief scientist, had taken leave to visit Rodney's sister and her family in Vancouver the past weekend. It was a great time mostly, until her little girl pulled out that game to play it. Shepherd's face scrunched up with unease at the memory.

 

The game in question was _The Legend of Zelda: Pathways of the Ancestors_. It would be innocent enough except that it chronicled in detail his and his team's very classified six year, time and parallel reality travel mission to Hyrule two years past. No one knew how the developers at Nintendo could have created the game or known about the mission in question. The company was just cooperative enough to change the names of certain characters, representing himself and his team, to not bring the also very classified U.S. Department of Homeworld Security down on the unwitting heads of the Japanese developers. Whenever he left Atlantis, he ran into some reminder of it. It didn't help that, two years later, it was still one of the most popular console games. He groaned when Bill tried to bring up the online multiplayer expansion to it.

 

After that, Dr. Lee thankfully became more consumed with his rod and reel and their conversation turned to something less stressful involving what kinds of sharks were in these waters that they could possibly catch. John only half paid attention to it as his thought were drawn back to the young man he had watched grow from an anything but ordinary kid to a capable and reliable friend and fellow warrior. There were times he wished that, if anything, the game gave some hint as to how the Link he knew was doing wherever and whenever he was. But the game's story lines that he knew about told him nothing. It ended with he and his team returning home with Impa's warning not to return for at least six years so as not to disrupt Hyrule's time line. He didn't look into the expansion's story.

 

It had only been two years for Shepherd (though he was eight years older now than when the whole thing started), and life on Atlantis had gone on. Other missions to other worlds in this galaxy took him away from Earth on a regular basis. They had heard little from the Pegasus galaxy in the years since Atlantis had left in order to defend Earth. The I.O.A. contented themselves to leave the people left behind in Pegasus to their own devices now that Atlantis had “returned” to Earth. It was a situation which irked him no end, but which he was powerless to do anything about.

 

“Link should be nineteen now,” he thought about his friend again. “That is, if he hasn't gotten himself killed yet.” Then he reminded himself, no, that wasn't right. He's only twelve right now. He's only twelve and Rodney, Davidson, Johnson and I are still there in Hyrule looking for a way home. “Man, time travel's a bitch.” He said under his breath.

 

“Did you say something?” Dr. Lee said.

 

“No.” Shepherd lied. It was tough enough to try and explain it to himself, much less to anyone else. His head began to hurt just trying to think about it. “You know Bill, I think I'm going to wrap this up. I just don't think I'm in the mood for deep sea fishing today.” He told Dr. Lee as he began to stand up and pack in his fishing pole and gear.

 

“Oh, okay.” Dr. Lee said in reply. He then asked, “You feeling okay, Colonel?”

 

“No, I'm getting a headache. Must be the sun or something. I'll go see Doc Keller and get some Advil. I'll catch you later, okay?” Shepherd said.

 

“Yeah, sure.”Bill said. Then he piped up, “Hey you mean Doc McKay now, right?” He said with a knowing smile.

 

“Yeah, yeah that's right. Sorry, old habits. I don't know if I'll ever get used to that.” Shepherd said. Rodney had proposed to Jennifer not long after their return from Hyrule. They'd been married for over a year now. He remembered Rodney telling him “Six years is long enough for me to think about it.” So, that happened. Not exactly like in the future Rodney's story. Jennifer never got sick, but still. Yet another creepy thing that happened in his line of work, he thought.

 

He packed up his gear and started the long walk back to his apartment in the city to stow his fishing gear. And then go see the good, blond haired doctor in question. The city's population had grown since they had returned to Earth. Many of Stargate Command's personnel had been transferred over, and new personnel had been added regularly now that the city was at full power with its three shiny Zero Point Modules powering it. All kinds of experiments and new research were being done all over the place. There were even a few families which were cleared to live and work there. As a result, there were off duty people everywhere, taking walks, fishing, and just relaxing. There were even a few bicycles running along the platform walkways. I need to get one of those, Shepherd thought to himself.

 

After reaching his apartment and relieving himself of his fishing rod and tackle, he decided to take the transporter to medical center instead of walking. As he entered the transporter and the doors closed, he told the elevator like vehicle to take him to the medical center. As it began to move, he heard the call go through his bluetooth ear piece, “Colonel Shepherd to the gate room! Unscheduled incoming wormhole!”

 

“Cancel last,” Shepherd spoke out loud. “Take me to the gate room.” He said.

 

* * *

 

“Unauthorized gate activity! Incoming wormhole!” The call shouted through Atlantis' command center as the symbols on the gate lit up and the wormhole vortex shot forward from the gate, and then retreat back inwards. “Raise the shield.” Woolsey gave the order to raise the energy shield which prevented any traveler from rematerializing inside the gate room. It however also had the downside of ending the traveler that tried it.

 

The blue energy shield materialized across the diameter of the stargate and held there.

 

“Do we have any idea where it's from?” Woolsey asked the technician on shift.

 

“No sir, there's no scheduled travelers or check-ins until at least nineteen hundred hours.” The technician responded.

 

Woolsey checked his watch, it was only two thirty in the afternoon. “Okay, so who is it then?” He asked to no one in particular. Through the windows of the control room, he looked down on the expansive, cathedral like room which held the active stargate, the great metal ring which allowed for wormhole travel across vast distances of space, and even time as they had found. Heavily armed marines in body armor took their stations around the room ready to obliterate anything which got past the energy shield.

 

The gate stayed open for several more tense minutes. And then the blue energy shield sputtered and winked out.

 

“Wait, what just happened?” Woolsey demanded.

 

“I don't know sir, something just interfered with the shield. I can't raise it again.” The technician responded.

 

Woolsey touched his earpiece and said into it, “Dr. McKay to the control room immediately.” Just as he turned back to view the scene playing out down in the gate room, he saw the form of Colonel Shepherd arrive, his sidearm drawn and pointed at the open wormhole in front of him.

 

Never taking his eyes off the gate, Colonel Shepherd touched his earpiece and said, “Woolsey, what the hell happened to the shield?”

 

“That's what we're trying to figure out, Colonel.” Woolsey responded quickly.

 

Then a familiar figure dressed in a green tunic and chain mail stepped through the watery blue shimmering event horizon of the wormhole. He held no weapon in his hand, and looked a few years older than when he last saw him, but in a split second Shepherd recognized him and called out, “Hold your fire! Friendly! Hold your fire!”

 

Just as Shepherd was getting his own men to stand down, Dr. McKay stepped into the control room and asked lightly, “Hey, what's up? Did you need me for something?”

 

Woolsey then pointed through the window down towards the scene in front of them, and McKay's eyes followed his finger until, “No way.” McKay said. “That's impossible. He'd still be a twelve year old kid from what Impa told us. That can't be right.”

 

Down in the gate room, Shepherd holstered his weapon slowly and called out, “Link?”

 

“Colonel Shepherd!” The green clad man in front of him responded in familiar, and happy recognition.

 

“Stand down, he's one of ours.” Shepherd said out loud. “Sort of.” he added, extending his hand to him. “How are you here?” Shepherd asked as they clasped hands. “How are you a grown man? You're supposed to be twelve years old right now.”

 

Dr. McKay and Woolsey joined them on the floor of the gate room. “Yes, how are you all grown up now?” McKay asked skeptically.

 

Link looked confused, and then comprehended. “Impa sent me here, and back in time thirteen years to meet you in this time and place.”

 

“Back in time?” McKay asked. “So you're from a future Hyrule?”

 

Link nodded.

 

“She can do that?” Woolsey asked with incredulity.

 

“How do you speak my language?” Link asked the strange, bald man.

 

“It's the stargate. It acts like a universal translator,” McKay answered, “The last time Zelda came through it uploaded Hylian into the gate network like it does everyone's spoken language and transmits it to nanites it implants in everyone who ever steps through the stargate. We're speaking English, but you're hearing Hylian.”

 

Link looked at Shepherd, confused. “Going through the stargate makes you understand our language.” Shepherd translated. “Just not Rodney's language.” McKay gave him a dirty look.

 

Mr. Woolsey then cleared his throat for the three to take notice of him again.

 

“I'm sorry, Link, this is Richard Woolsey, he's in charge of Atlantis.” Shepherd said, realizing Link had never met the man before now. “Mr. Woolsey this is Link...” Shepherd began but then Link continued in a more authoritative voice, “Son of Farore, Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces of the Kingdom of Hyrule. And no, Mr. Woolsey it has never been tried, but we had no choice,” Link explained, nodding in Woolsey's direction.

 

“How did she get the power to send you here?” McKay asked.

 

“She used the Triforce of Power to give our portal the extra energy it needed to bring me here.” Link answered.

 

“But you know we can't send you back to your own time, even if we can send you back to Hyrule through the linking book.” Woolsey said. “You must have been desperate to attempt this.”

 

“Impa gave me a set of symbols she said Rodney McKay would know how to use to send me back. She said that this place should now have all the energy it needed to send me back. And yes, we are very desperate.”

 

“What's happened?” Shepherd asked with concern. Hyrule had been his home for six years, whether he wanted it to be at the time or not. Whether or not he felt easy with the game, there would always be a place in his heart for that world.

 

Link drew the blue hilt of the shattered Master Sword and reverently displayed it to them. “This happened. We need to reforge the blade of the Master Sword, or the Hyrule I know will be destroyed.”

 

“Whoa.” Shepherd said. “Wait a minute, what do you mean it will be destroyed?”

 

Link then explained what had happened.

 

“So we can take as much time as we need on our side of it, but once you set foot through the gate in Hyrule, the clock to doomsday starts ticking again. Does that about sum it up?” Woolsey asked.

 

“Yes. Although I would like to be able to return while I am still young enough to live the rest of my life there with my wife and children.” Link responded. “And if I don't return with the Master Sword whole, then Hyrule, my family, the princess, our whole world will be lost.”

 

“What makes you think we can reforge the blade?” McKay asked.

 

“The Master Sword was forged many thousands of years ago by the gods who first entered and shaped Hyrule. As you once told me, they most likely came from this world, and this place. It was our only chance.” Link told him.

 

McKay's face took on a blank expression as his mind began whirring. “They were ancients.”

 

“Yes.” Link said.

 

“Can I see the hilt?” McKay asked. Link carefully handed it to him.

 

McKay looked it over with an extremely critical eye, especially where the shattered blade had been joined to it. “Yes, aha.”

 

“You can do it?” Link asked.

 

McKay answered crisply but positively, “I don't know yet. But there's still some fragments of the metal embedded in the hilt. If we can analyze them we can figure out what it was made of and go from there, and,” he continued, “in the meantime Bill and I can search the database for any reference to the sword or anything like it, and see what we come up with. He'll love that.”

 

“What about Dr. Zelenka?” Woolsey asked.

 

“No, no, no. Radek's still working on getting the zed p.m. production plant up and running.” After eight years of living there, they had only just recently discovered Atlantis' factory for zero point module production deep in the city's underbelly. “The I.O.A.'s insistent on getting it running on schedule, and between Bill and Radek, I hate to admit it, but I'd rather have Zelenka running the show down there.”

 

“Agreed.” Woolsey said.

 

“Okay then. Now that that's settled,” Shepherd said, “Link, for the time being, welcome to Atlantis.” As he led him further into the city, he asked, “So you have a wife and kids now?”

 

“My twin boys are five years old.” Link answered.

 

“Wow, do we have a lot of catching up to do.” Shepherd responded. “Are you hungry? Let's go get something in the mess hall while Rodney figures out the sword.”

 

* * *

 

Impa had set the wooden mechanical clock on a stool in front of the portal and waited. Normally such a device would be useless in the temple, but she had made certain adjustments to it so that she would know how much time was left. Even the timelessness of this temple seemed to be affected by the blight.

 

She had hoped Link would have come back through mere minutes after he left. But the minutes continued on into an hour, and then two, and Impa began to fear something had gone very wrong. But there was nothing she could do.

 

She collected the Triforce of Power from the control pedestal and returned it to it's protective satchel. They had been extremely fortunate in its recovery, she knew, after the death of Demise and his host. Somehow it survived the blast and was freed from its unholy union with the Demon King, and it seemed to wait for Link to recover it from the battlefield, like it wanted him to find it and return it home to Hyrule and this temple. She was reluctant to return it to its own protective enclosure within the temple yet. She thought she might need its power once more, and so the satchel remained clasped protectively between her hands.

 

Zelda would be waiting anxiously for word from her, she knew. But there was nothing to be done but wait, and so she did, patiently in front of the portal, attempting to meditate and commune with the goddesses whom she served.

 

There was a crash nearby and her eyes flew open. Another one, down the hall. She looked at the clock as it still stood on the stool. It had been several hours. No, it was the morning of the coronation! How did that happen? She wondered. Had she fallen asleep? “I am getting old.” She said to herself. “I'm even talking to myself, now.”

 

Yet another crash. Someone was smashing urns and vases. Someone else was in the temple! “That's not possible.” She caught herself. “No one may enter without my knowing about it.” Nevertheless, something or someone was in her home, trashing it.

 

She stood up and followed the noise, still carefully holding the sacred relic in its case. A figure down the hall in a black cloak was breaking things.

 

The dark figure spoke out loud in an ugly, rough, black speech which she couldn't decipher to no one in particular.

 

Impa didn't recognize the gray skinned, mishappen creature in front of her. He certainly didn't look like he was from their world. She reached her hand into the satchel quietly to draw on the divine power once more in the defense of her sacred home.

 

Then he turned around to face her and she saw his horrid, tortured face and knew this was one of those creatures Link had described to her. “An orc.” She said with disgust. “Din!” she called out and pointed towards the ugly thing. A great fireball leapt from her fingertips and flew towards it.

 

The orc however brought his cloak up and shouted something back, and the fireball broke against his cloak without burning him. “Oh no.” Impa said. “You will not have this!” She shouted at it. “Farore!” She called upon the name of the goddess, and dropped a green jewel at her feet. Instantly she would be gone in a flash of green light.

 

Except she was still there. Farore's wind had failed. The orc held out his clawed hand like he was holding something. “Hylian.” He said in her own tongue. “You have powerful magic here. My master brought it to our world before your people murdered him and then hunted my people down like animals.”

 

“What is it you want, demon? You are not welcome here.” Impa said, trying to keep him talking to gain time to think.

 

“I can see that, Hylian.” The orc replied. “I want my people to have what rightfully belongs to them. What your people stole from us.”

 

“We took nothing from you that you didn't already steal.” Impa replied coolly.

 

“Middle Earth was ours. The age of the orc was finally to happen, and we would be victorious. You stole this from us.” The orc told her, beginning to walk slowly towards her. “My master told me many things of your world. He told me of the power, and the wonders which could be found here. You used that power to destroy my people. I will use it to save them.”

 

“You will burn in whatever hell you came from!” Impa tried the spell again, this time she touched the Triforce of Power and called on its creator to incinerate the foul thing in front of her. A wave of intense, consuming fire flew out from her in every direction melting and scorching even the timeless stone around her.

 

The demon however was unaffected by it. “Fire I understand little witch.” He said as he grabbed her arm and tore the satchel from her grasp. “What is this little toy?” He asked, reaching into the bag.

 

“Din protect your own!” Impa shouted.

 

As the orc reached his hand into the bag to touch the sacred golden triangle, power, heat, and light shot forth from it. He then touched it. “I feel it. The power, I can feel it...” He said almost purring.

 

“It isn't meant for you or your kind!” Impa shouted.

 

“I will be the judge of that, little witch.” The orc responded as he closed his hand around the gold triangle. The Triforce continued to glow brighter and brighter in its satchel, throwing off more and more energy.

 

“No. You won't.” Impa said.

 

“Ahhh!” The orc screamed as his hand caught fire. “No! I will control it! It will be mine!” The orc then began an incantation and fought back with his magic, ignoring, even reveling in the pain it caused him.

 

“No, don't!” Impa shouted as the Triforce increased in intensity.

 

“Arrrrgh!!!” The Orc cried out, and his hand burst into flame as he dropped to his knees in pain.

 

The Triforce continued on its path to overload, until finally she heard a sickening crack, and the light faded. The golden triangle went dark.

 

“What?” Impa opened the bag and drew out the sacred relic. It was black as obsidian or coal. A single, huge crack ran down the center of it from tip to base. “What have you done? You filthy animal creature, what have you done?!” She shouted at the orc, still in pain on its knees.

 

“Foul witch!” The orc screamed in pain at her. He jumped to his feet and shoved her to the ground. “Your worthless toy was just a trinket.” he said as he held the charred remains of the Triforce in his burnt hand. “My brothers and I will finish what my master started. Your princess will know the orcs' wrath before the day has ended. I promise you.” He tossed the Triforce to the ground and standing over her and drew a sword he had concealed under his cloak. “But you will not live to see it.”

 

He then plunged the sword into the old woman's body and drove it into the stone floor, pinning her there. The life faded from her eyes as he walked away towards the temple's entrance. He did not look back.

 

Behind him, had he chosen to look back, he would have seen her empty red robes on the floor, as a stream of living, flowing energy rose from it. “How wrong could you be?” The ascended being that had been Impa said. For a brief moment, she entertained the thought of throwing lightning at the orc that was quickly leaving her temple. But no, she sensed the Others communicating with her, he must be left for he too still has a role to play. And in the many planes of existence that were now open to her, she could see and know that the Hero would put an end to the creature in time, so she did not bother. Instead her attention was focused on the dark triangle. Could she repair it now? She wondered.

 

She gathered it up to her and explored it. She could sense the inner workings of the device now, and knew every pathway in it. It was cleverly designed to channel the energy of the belief in the virtue it represented and magnify the power of that belief. No ascended being, no deity of Hyrule, and no creature of magic could use it, only flesh and blood mortals born of this world. But it's internal workings were badly damaged and fused together. It was a true miracle that it hadn't exploded when the orc tried using his own powers against it. In time, she might be able to repair it. But unlike so much of her life, time was a luxury she no longer had, not even as an undying being of pure energy.

 

“What have you done to us, demon?” She asked again. She didn't know where to turn now. She knew, she felt, that Link would return, but the Triforce itself was ruined. Without the first piece, Din's piece, it couldn't be assembled to focus the Power, Wisdom, and Courage needed to heal the Sacred Realm. Would Link understand what she had been trying to say before he left? Would he figure the balance out in time?

 

* * *

 

The Lady Malon walked with a dignity that no one would have guessed of a woman who had been raised milking cows. As she strode purposefully towards the halls, the castle servants greeted her with polite friendliness to which she returned a warm, and sincere greeting in kind. Many of the older staff she had known from years before when she would make deliveries of milk, or help in driving horses for delivery to the castle from her father, Talon. She was on a first name basis with these older members of the staff who had watched her grow up, and yet they still seemed to stop what they were doing and wait respectfully for her to pass them now.

 

She had been summoned in the early hours of the morning to the very same council chambers that her husband had been summoned the day before. It was an ominous feeling to her knowing how that meeting had turned out, and her stomach was slowly turning into knots. “Has something happened to my Link?” She asked herself upon receiving the summons at daybreak.

 

After going through the motions of her duties all that day, she hadn't slept at all that night, tossing and turning in her bed. All night she was tormented with the sight of Link in the Hero's clothes, and the thought that she might not see him again. It was the hardest thing about being his wife. As the wife of the Supreme Commander of Hyrule's military, it meant sharing him with the military and watching as he went out on campaigns with legions of other soldiers to watch his back in the small skirmishes and battles that occasionally arose on Hyrule's borders. That wasn't as difficult to accept because of the other men, loyal men, who were looking out for him. But as the wife of the Hero... That was a different proposition altogether. She knew it meant that she had to share him in some way with Zelda. She didn't fully understand their relationship, but she knew their connection went deep. She could live with that. It was part of the agreement she made when she married him. What terrified her about being the Hero's wife was that it meant she had to share him with, and give him up to the fate of Hyrule itself. It was a fate against whole armies of darkness which he had to face alone, with no one to watch out for him. She had been praying to the goddess all night, every goddess she knew of and whatever gods she didn't know, to protect him and bring him back to her.

 

It was the morning of Princess Zelda's coronation as queen of Hyrule. The whole castle and all of Castle Town was alive even at that early hour in preparation for the ceremony and the festival which would be held in honor of their newly crowned queen. Banners and streamers displaying the Hylian livery and colors were proudly displayed everywhere inside and outside the castle. The Castle Guard, her husband's men, all saluted her crisply in their freshly cleaned and polished uniforms as she passed by them in her passage from their chambers to the royal council room.

 

She summoned up whatever courage she had left, straightened her back, and opened the wooden door to enter the spacious council room with the long marble table. At the head of that table as she entered sat the Princess in a simple uniform not unlike Link's guard uniform, wearing her tiara. Her long blond hair had been pulled up into a bun, and the look on her face was all business. Serious business. As Malon scanned the room, there were Zelda's royal advisers all sitting in carved wooden chairs around the table. The ministers of agriculture, foreign affairs, domestic affairs, and all the rest except for one, her husband, were all present. So that's why I'm here, she thought as she entered. To represent my husband and the military. It wouldn't have been the first time she had been called on to fill in while Link was away on official business.

 

“Lady Malon, we are glad you could join us this morning.” Zelda said warmly and sincerely, if somewhat formally. “Please, won't you take the Supreme Commander's seat next to mine.” Zelda motioned to the empty, high-backed chair positioned next to her right hand. The prime minister of Hyrule sat opposite to Zelda's left.

 

“Of course your highness.” Malon said, being careful to not allow her voice to betray her relief that representing Link was all it was about. This she could do. She knew almost as much about Hyrule's military capability and readiness as her husband did. It was his usual topic of conversation, and she always paid attention to it.

 

She deliberately approached the open seat and sat down next to her monarch, being careful to not disrupt the solemnity of the gathering with her movements. She placed her open hands on the table and gave her whole attention to the Princess, just as she assumed her husband would. “How may I serve Hyrule and yourself, your highness?” She asked in the traditional, formal manner.

 

“Lady Malon, I have been discussing the coronation and its implications with my royal council now all morning.” Zelda said, gesturing to the men who sat around the table. Malon chanced a look at their faces and saw that they were all staring with serious faces, not at the Princess, but at her. Why, what did I do? Or what did Link do? Malon asked herself.

 

“As you and all of Hyrule knows, I am to be crowned Hyrule's queen. But as such, I have never married, and have no heirs. Traditionally, the Hero and the Princess have always formed an alliance both political and marital.” Zelda said with gravity. “And as such the Hylian royal line has continued throughout the eons of time.”

 

Malon's heart began to race. Oh no. She thought. She had never expected Zelda, her Zelda whom she had taken to be her best friend and like a sister, to play this card. But she remained silent. She loved her husband, but if Zelda demanded him to continue the royal bloodlines, what could she do?

 

“However, things change.” Zelda continued. “And I could not be more pleased with the Hero's choice for wife, and the brave strong sons she has born him.”

 

So, she wasn't going to take him from her, what then? Malon wondered. Was she going to declare Talon and John her legal heirs?

 

“I called you here, Lady Malon to reveal to you and in front of the royal council because it concerns the future of our kingdom, what my father revealed to me in private before he passed away.” Zelda declared.

 

Malon sat in silence, her attention riveted to Zelda and her next words.

 

“Before you and I were born, my father was a good and caring husband. But he was also a mortal man with faults of his own.” Zelda began. “There was a time when he fell in love once, unbeknownst to my mother, with a flame haired stable girl. This love became passionate and intimate, and she conceived. In order to hide the pregnancy, and their affair, my father introduced her to a farmer's son and they were quickly married. The farmer's son never knew the girl that was born nine months later wasn't his. And after his wife died in childbirth, my father never revealed it to him.”

 

“Your highness, what are you saying?” Malon asked her heart racing again, not sure if she was understanding what she was hearing correctly.

 

“You, Lady Malon, presumed daughter of Talon, are also the rightful daughter of Gaepora, King of Red Lions, King of Hyrule, and my father.” Zelda told her. “And as such, I am declaring you, my sister, and your sons, Talon and John, in front of my entire royal council, to be my legal and lawful heirs should anything befall me and I am no longer able to rule this land. I have already set this into writing with my seal, and these men are all signatories and witnesses to this effect.”

 

Malon didn't notice that her hands had been pressed so hard on the table that they were turning white. She didn't notice the faces of all the men staring at her, waiting to see her reaction, wondering if she had somehow duped the princess into signing this into law. All she could see was the face of her Princess, no her half-sister, looking intently at her waiting for her response.

 

“You knew about this since his majesty died?” Malon finally managed to struggle out. “And you didn't tell me?”

 

“I am sorry, Malon.” Zelda said with sincerity. “I had to wait to confirm it with those few servants in the palace who knew. Several of them have since moved on and out into the countryside. It took some time to track them down. I had to be certain before I told you.”

 

“The wise thing.” Malon said. “Always the wise thing.”

 

“Yes.” Zelda said sadly. “It is my nature.”

 

“So it is.” Malon said in reply.

 

“Gentlemen,” Zelda addressed her council, “as you can see for yourselves, the Lady Malon had no prior knowledge of this. I hope that satisfies you as to her innocence in the matter. Now, if you will please excuse us. I wish to talk to my sister, your Princess now, in private.”

 

“We are satisfied, your highness.” The prime minister replied, then nodding to Malon gravely, “our apologies to you, your highness.” The heads of the other men nodded in agreement one by one, and politely excused themselves, leaving the two women alone in the room at the table.

 

“I couldn't tell you before now, Malon.” Zelda told her, almost pleading. “I had to wait. If I had told you before this, and then brought it to the council, they would have believed the stupid notion that you somehow convinced me of it and were trying to steal the crown from me. They are good men, our father's men, and they were only trying to protect me. I had to protect you from them.”

 

Malon's head was spinning. Her father was not her father. Zelda wasn't just like a sister to her, she was her sister. Her father... Her father. Tears formed on the edges of her eyes. She understood Zelda's reasoning, and the wisdom behind it. There was always wisdom behind everything her sister did. Her sister. The thought came so naturally to her. They had been as close as sisters for the last six years. There was always a strategy behind her what her sister did. She was always four steps ahead of everyone. She entered a room to play a game, and her opponent instinctively knew he had lost before she even sat down to play.

 

“We have to play the game by its own rules.” Malon said, still stunned. “Even the games that mix politics and family, no matter who they hurt.”

 

“Yes, unfortunately we do.” Zelda agreed. “Please don't be angry with me.” She said, tears forming in her eyes. “I don't want to gain a sister only to lose a best friend.”

 

Malon's tears started to fall. “You won't.” She said, and then got up to throw her arms around her sister, who returned the embrace freely as she stood up to meet her. They both stood there, weeping onto each other's shoulders.

 

When they parted, Zelda asked her, “Would you stand next to me at my coronation, as my sister? I would very much like it if you were at my right hand. I will publicly place my tiara on your head before the Sage of Light places the crown on mine.”

 

“My father, Talon, will be there, as will all of Hyrule. What do I tell him?” Malon asked. The truth would hurt her father without end.

 

“We will both reveal the truth to him, when the time is right.” Zelda said cryptically.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

 

Link stared out over the railing at the tall spires of the floating city and the deep blue ocean beyond it. Colonel Shepherd had brought him to eat lunch on the outside terrace of the mess hall which held one of the most stunning views he had ever laid eyes on. The ocean of Earth was so vast it made him feel small and insignificant. He remembered the oceans of Hyrule from his past lives, and his own personal visits in his youth with Dr. McKay; always looking for the linking book that turned out to be right under their noses the whole time. Link smiled and chuckled at the memory of McKay's face when he found out.

 

“So your two boys,” Shepherd began to ask as he joined him, two trays of food in his hands, “what are their names?” The trays were slid carefully on to the small table.

 

Link turned from the expansive scene to face him, and smiled, “Talon and John.”

 

Shepherd grinned widely upon hearing the boys' names, and said, “Good names!” He then asked as he sat down, “Do they look like you or Zelda?”

 

A horrified and embarrassed look spread over Link's face, “Her highness isn't their mother!” He said hurriedly.

 

“What?” Shepherd said in confusion, shrugging his shoulders and gesturing with his metal silverware. “I thought that was how it was supposed to work. You save the princess, the two of you get married, and you live happily ever after in a big castle. Until the next time.” He then added, “I used to live in the castle too. It was pretty big.”

 

Link sat down opposite him, and said, “I'm sorry.” He said apologetically. “No, it didn't happen that way. Not this time. Maybe it's because I never actually saved her personally from anything. No, Zelda and I never got together, and never got married. My wife's name is Malon.”

 

Shepherd snapped his fingers trying to remember a face with the name. “Malon, Malon... Hey, wasn't that the name of the farm girl with the red hair out at Lon Lon Ranch? She was what, fifteen the last time I saw her? She was pretty cute as I remember, and worked miracles with some of the toughest horses I've seen.”

 

“You know her?” Link asked in disbelief.

 

“I'd met her a couple of times. Really nice kid. You remember for six years I had your job, and had to go out there to settle things for the cavalry horses with Talon.” Shepherd explained. “You were out roaming the countryside getting yourself into trouble with Rodney.” He reminded Link. “Talon was a good man, but Malon really ran things for him. It was pretty obvious.”

 

Link smiled, “She still does,” he joked, “at least in our family.”

 

“You did well, buddy.” Shepherd said. He then asked, “So Hyrule's doing well then? I mean besides the whole thing with the sword?” Shepherd asked.

 

“Hyrule has grown and thrived. We now have a train system connecting all the parts of the kingdom, and were looking to expand it further to other friendly lands to open up further trade. Our men are as well trained and disciplined as they've ever been. The land is at peace except for a few border skirmishes with rogue Bokoblin tribes. Zelda is to be crowned queen upon my return. All is going very well.”

 

“Queen? What happened to King Gaepora?” Shepherd asked.

 

“He passed away from a long illness a month past.” Link responded.

 

“I'm sorry to hear that.” Shepherd said sincerely. “Gaepora was a good man, and good ruler.”

 

“Yes, he was.” Link agreed.

 

“But Zelda's sharp as a tack. She'll take care of business the right way. She always has.” Shepherd said.

 

“No one doubts that.” Link agreed. “So how long do you think it will take Dr. McKay to give us an answer?” He asked.

 

“Not long, I hope. It all depends on whether or not anything about the sword is in the city's database, and if it is, how long it takes to find it.” Shepherd said. “But, we've got the time, as you said, so let's not worry about it just yet. You just got here, and it's been two years for me and nine for you.”

 

And so they relaxed together as two old friends, and talked about their lives, their mutual friends, and became reacquainted. Neither of them paid any attention to the strange looks different Atlantis team members gave Link as they saw him from within the mess hall.

 

One little boy who was there with his mother, a scientist assigned to Atlantis, pulled on his mother's hand and said loudly, “Mommy! Is that...” She turned around to look before he could finish his sentence to see the green clad, pointed eared young man having lunch with Atlantis' military base commander. “No, Tyler,” she said, unsure of her own answer, “It's probably just some friend of the Colonel's from off world.” The little boy continued to stare as his mother made him move on. For the mother's part, the large eyed, elfin eared young man hadn't been the strangest visitor she'd ever seen on the base.

 

* * *

 

“The Ancients called it the _lamna clavia_.” Rodney explained to Shepherd, Link, and Woolsey as they met in Woolsey's office the next day. “Roughly translated, it means, 'the key blade.'”

 

Link had been offered his own guest quarters in the city, but on the Colonel's invitation chose to sleep on Shepherd's couch that night. It worked out well as Shepherd introduced him to watching a broadcast of the sport of American football that he had told him about so many years before.

 

“The ancestors called the Master Sword, 'the key blade?'” Link asked.

 

“Yeah. It took a little bit of digging, but Bill had the idea from another game called 'Kingdom Hearts,'” Rodney began to explain. Upon which Shepherd piped up, “played it. Decent game.”

 

“If I may continue?” Rodney said impatiently.

 

“Sure.” Shepherd said, gesturing back to Rodney.

 

“It's about some kid named Sora who who runs around with a sword shaped like a key. He fights bad guys with a bunch of Disney characters.” Rodney continued.

 

Shepherd took a sideways glance at Link, and then shuddered at the idea of having to run ops alongside Mickey Mouse. “No thanks.” He remarked.

 

“Anyways,” Rodney said, annoyed, “there's this sword in that game that's used to open up portals from one realm to another, and it's called a key blade. So, since that kind of sounded like one of the important functions of the Master Sword we tried running a search term through Atlantis's database using the ancient phrase 'lamna clavia' and presto! It came up with specifications, blueprints, everything we need. Turns out, it wasn't that hard to find really. We just had to know what we were looking for.” Rodney explained.

 

“Okay, the key blade, so it was originally made here then? On Atlantis?” Woolsey asked in disbelief.

 

“Yeah, it was, believe it or not.” Rodney responded excitedly. “It turns out the ancients made several of these key blades tailored to allow access to specific realities through very specific gates so that only the right person or people could or would be allowed to pass through. They were all controlled by the key blades A.I. which in Master Sword's case was Fi. There's even a complete copy of her original program in the database. I mean, it's all there. Everything we need to rebuild it.”

 

“Really, you can reforge the sword?” Link asked, not fully believing his good fortune.

 

“Absolutely.” Rodney said with glee. “Also, I know why it shattered in the first place.”

 

“By all means, tell us.” Woolsey said.

 

“The blade itself exploded.” Rodney said.

 

“Okay, we knew that, Rodney.” Shepherd said, a little perturbed.

 

“Yeah, but now I know why there was an explosion.” The scientist said with some glee.

 

“Why?” Link asked.

 

“Bill and I analyzed the shard of the blade that was still left in the hilt. Want to know what it was composed of?” McKay asked.

 

“What?” Shepherd asked impatiently. “Get to the point, Rodney.”

 

Rodney overemphasized the word, “Naquida.” He then continued, “It was a composite of specially programmed trinium nanites joined together into a really complex neural network of circuits like cells in a body. These nanites were the bonded and embedded into a naquida base. The circuits for Fi and for some of its other more amazing abilities drew their power from the slow degradation of the naquida. And, the naquida could absorb, store, and release energy like a capacitor. Extra energy absorbed by the blade, if it wasn't released should have strengthened the nuclear bonds between the nanites. The truth is, nothing, I mean nothing should have been able to shatter it.”

 

“I thought you said you knew what caused it to explode.” Woolsey said.

 

“Yeah, I do. The sangraal jewel we attached to it.” Rodney said.

 

“What do you mean?” Shepherd asked.

 

“The blade was meant to absorb energy, while the sangraal jewel was meant to disrupt it and cancel out the energy waves of ascended beings. When Link activated it and used it to kill Demise and his host, the blade couldn't handle the conflicting energy pulses and overloaded instead, causing a tiny nuclear explosion localized to Demise's host.” Rodney explained further.

 

“Well then how did Link and the hilt survive a nuclear blast?” Woolsey asked in disbelief.

 

“Nayru's love.” Link said. “It was the remnants of Nayru's love covering me and the hilt of the sword.”

 

“Nayru's love?” Woolsey asked, not understanding. “Who's Nayru?”

 

“Nayru's love is a shield spell the Hylians use, kind of like those Ancient personal shields we've found around the city.” Shepherd explained. “Except it doesn't last more than a few minutes of combat.”

 

“I see.” Woolsey rubbed his face in his hands, trying to process what he was hearing. “So doctor, let me get this straight. The Master Sword, this key blade, exploded because of the modification we made to it in order to kill Demise, does that about sum it up?”

 

“Yeah, that's pretty much it.” Rodney said.

 

“It's our fault.” Shepherd said quietly, angry at himself. “We put Hyrule in danger trying to do a good deed. Dammit, after this many years you'd think we'd have learned by now to not try and upset the balance of things we know nothing about.”

 

“But, you can reforge it. We still have time to save my world? Right?” Link asked.

 

“Yeah, absolutely. We've got all the materials right here on Atlantis, and it wouldn't take much.” Rodney responded with confidence.

 

“And you can restore Fi?” Link asked.

 

“Yeah, I believe so. The circuitry's pretty complex, and the main circuits in the hilt took a pretty bad beating, but yeah, I think so. I don't know if she'll have all of the memories of the Fi you knew, but the base program should be the same.” Rodney replied. “But she'll be able to open the portals anyways.”

 

“Good enough.” Shepherd said.

 

“How long?” Link asked.

 

“Uh, let me think. We just have to get the replicator table back up and running again, and load the specs into the system... uh.. time to get the materials and everything into place... time to write the program to make it all come together again... and a couple of days tops? I think. I didn't think we were in a super big hurry on our end.”

 

“A couple of days?” Link thought about it. “That should be perfect. I just wish I could get a message to Impa and let her know.”

 

“No, can't try that yet. I looked at the gate coordinate she wrote down. Even for us at full power, that's a three zed p.m. connection. If we hadn't found the zero point module factory I wouldn't have even tried to dial it up.” Rodney explained. “It's a one shot deal. I don't know how she got the power to send you here for that matter.”

 

“She used the Triforce of Power.” Link reminded him.

 

“Oh. Well then it should have been no problem for her.” Rodney said sheepishly.

 

“Okay, so Link spends a few days on Atlantis, we fix the sword, he takes it back and heals the Sacred Realm, and everything's kosher right?” Shepherd asked. “Did I leave anything out?”

 

No one had anything to add.

 

“Good, then we have a plan. Let's get to it gentlemen. Supreme Commander,” Woolsey addressed Link with his formal title, “as a formal dignitary of the Kingdom of Hyrule, I invite you to be our welcome guest and to enjoy your stay here on Atlantis. Please let me know if I can do anything to make your stay here more comfortable.”

 

“Thank you Mr. Woolsey.” Link responded in kind.

 

* * *

 

The day was beautiful around Hyrule Castle as the sun rose and everyone prepared for the crowning of their new queen. Guests from all over their world, Hylians, Gorons, Zoras, representatives from Labrynia and Paladrum from across the sea, the Mayor of Clock Town and his retinue from Termina, and the honored guests, his majesty King Eldarion the second of the United Kingdoms of Gondor and Arnor and his royal council and their retinue from Middle Earth had gathered to pay their respects and tribute to the newly crowned queen whose generous support had saved their world from catastrophe. The preparations for the coronation festival in Castle Town were in place and everyone was in a festive mood.

 

The clock tower tolled the hour before noon, and the ceremony had begun in earnest as all the guests who were able and invited to filled the royal great hall of Hyrule Castle to witness Zelda's coronation before the throne of her father. Around the perimeter of the hall and up in the balconies stood the gray uniformed Castle Guard watching the crowd intently rifles at the ready, each an expert marksman, though none of them expected any serious threats. The Princess was much loved by everyone in the crowd, and the whole of Hyrule's professional standing army, over two thousand, well trained and disciplined men, all had been assigned in and around the castle, castle town, and the surrounding region in a pattern of concentric circles on Link's orders to prevent anything from ruining the most important day of the Princess's life.

 

As the ceremony began, trumpets blared in unison announcing the arrival of the Princess to the throne room. What the people in the crowd did not expect was the red haired woman dressed in an identical silver, gold, and pink gown to Zelda's displaying the Hylian royal family's crest accompanying her onto the dais. They were flanked by Sir William and Sir Portant, Link's generals and second in rank only to himself. He insisted on trusting the immediate security of Zelda, and unknownst to him, Malon, to no one else.

 

“My people,” Zelda's voice rang out loud, and clear, and strong. “Thank you for coming to share this very special day with me. Hyrule has gone through many changes over the eons of her history. We now enter a new age which none of us could have imagined. An age where we will be free to progress and grow as the goddesses always intended us to. If you will let me, by the will of the goddesses I will lead you into this new age.”

 

A great cheer rose up from the crowd, and applause that was deafening. All eyes, including the castle guards' eyes were on the Princess.

 

“As many of you know, the burden of leadership is a heavy one, and no one lives forever. Up until now I myself have had no heirs to carry on this work of bringing Hyrule into this new age should anything happen to me.” She continued, and the crowd was enthralled. What was the Princess up to? Many of them wondered.

 

Then Princess Zelda did something that stunned the crowd. She carefully removed the silver tiara which had been upon her head and placed it upon the head of the red headed young woman standing next to her, smiling as she did so. She then proclaimed to the crowd, “So I here today, in the sight of the goddesses and all the people of Hyrule adopt the Lady Malon, daughter of Talon, wife of Link, the Hero of Hyrule, and her two sons Talon and John, sons of Link as my rightful heirs to the throne, and my true and lawful sister!”

 

A murmur passed through the crowd. Such a thing had never been done before? Many in the crowd knew and loved the Lady Malon and her family, but adoption into the Royal Family of a one time milk maid? Could that be done?

 

A clear strong, masculine voice rang out from the crowd, “All hail the Princess Malon!” Soon another voice carried the call, and then another, and another and the ceremonial guard picked it up as well until the entire hall was filled with the adulation, “All hail the Princess Malon!”

 

The young woman's face turned beet red as she stood next to the Princess Zelda at her right hand facing the crowd. She knew the voice which had started the cry. It belonged to her father, Talon. She wondered if somehow he had known all along, or if he was just supporting her the best way he could; the way he always had.

 

Zelda turned to her and smiled, giving her a full embrace as her sister in front of the whole of Hyrule. She then whispered into her ear, “Now, no one can question who you are. Today, I return to you your rightful heritage and inheritance my sister.” She then kissed Malon on the cheek, and withdrew from her.

 

She then motioned to the crowd to quiet down and the trumpets sounded again. She faced the throne as the Sage of Light, Rauro, an old and wise man ascended the steps of the dais, the red robes of his office emblazoned with the emblem of light in bright gold thread. In his hands he held the royal crown of Hyrule, the very same crown which had graced the brow of Zelda's beloved father, Gaepora. She looked at it sadly and nodded her head as Rauru came to stand between her and the throne. She then turned around to face the crowd and knelt in her gown with both knees on the dais under the great carved marble relief of the Triforce and the goddesses Din, Nayru, and Farore who created it and their land.

 

The Sage of Light held the great crown over her head and a hush fell over the audience as they all strained to hear what was to take place.

He began the ancient rite, “Do you, Zelda, daughter of Gaepora, keeper of the Triforce of Wisdom, so solemnly swear in the presence of the goddesses Din, Nayru, and Farore, and the people of the Kingdom of Hyrule to rule and guide our people with Power, Wisdom, and Courage for the benefit of all the people and races of the Kingdom of Hyrule, forsaking your own will, desires, and even your very life as a living sacrifice according to the laws and traditions of this blessed land?”

 

Zelda responded clearly and loudly so all could hear her, “I so solemnly swear.”

 

Rauru continued, “Then I crown you...” He never got the chance to finish as the crown toppled from his grasp and he fell to the ground. A huge black arrow pierced through his midsection. Someone screamed and Zelda realized it had been her as she also collapsed to the ground, a bright red stain spreading from a great hole in her chest where the same arrow had pierced through with such force that it continued on towards her friend and mentor.

 

From there things seemed to happen in slow motion around them as Sir William dove to get Malon under cover, shielding her with his own body, and Sir Portant dove to cover his not yet crowned queen, her blood staining his otherwise immaculate gray uniform. Malon couldn't see what was happening, until her eyes found her newly discovered sister, the life draining out of her. Sir Portant seemed to be screaming for something, and she heard the sounds of rifles going off all around her overhead. She didn't know where they were shooting at or who they were trying to shoot.

 

She barely heard Sir Portant's words, “I need Red Potion, or a fairy now! Right now! Stay with me Princess, stay with me! RED POTION, NOW! RIGHT NOW!!!”

 

“Malon...” Zelda's weak voice, she could hear it somehow. “My sister...” Malon pushed herself away from Sir William and went to Zelda's side while Sir William tried to move with her to keep her from harm. “Zelda, I'm here, my sister I'm here.” Malon said, tears flowing. “Take care of Hyrule for me...” Zelda said. “I go to rejoin my sisters... no longer bound to this mortal form... can't stay with you any longer, have to let go of my burdens.” Then she breathed her last, and her eyes stared lifelessly into nothingness.

 

Time seemed to stand still for Malon then even though it was a whirl of motion and sound around her. “My sister...” She whispered softly, gently stroking Zelda's hair in a way she had never dared do before. “My sister...” She repeated again as Sir William began to tug on her, trying to pull her away. And then, in an eternal instant, Zelda's peaceful, lifeless form began to melt away into a glow of pure white light and her bloodied clothes were suddenly emptied as the pure, white energy of light rose and Malon's eyes followed it. And in the middle of it she would later swear that she could see Zelda's face smiling down on her and whispering, “I'm free.” And then the light ascended into the air and into the space in front of the carving of the Triforce and the goddesses, and for a brief moment it appeared to light all three sacred triangles with a golden glow, and then it rose through the ceiling of the hall and she was gone.

 

“... got to get you out of here, your highness!” Sir William was pleading with her she heard as she found him tugging on her arm. Time sped up and all the events that were happening around her came crashing down upon her. “Come your highness, please, we've got to get you someplace safe!” She nodded and finally allowed him to take her from the nightmare around her.

 

Sir William and Sir Portant flanked Malon on either side, grasping both of her arms as seven more Castle Guards surrounded the three of them closely. They whisked her away quickly and into a side room with a table and some comfortable plush chairs. In better times, the Princess had entertained casual guests there. She and Malon had even had tea in that room before, sitting in the very same chairs.

 

The Castle guards took up positions at the door of the room while Sir Portant asked her urgently, “Are you hurt your highness? Are you injured?”

 

What a question. Had she been injured that day? In how many ways? But she answered, “No. I'm... I'm alright.”

 

“What are your orders your highness?” Sir William asked her, waiting for instructions.

 

“My orders?” Malon asked in confusion. Why are they asking me what to do?

 

“With her highness Zelda dead, you are now in command as monarch of Hyrule, your highness.” Sir William responded.

 

Malon sat stunned. “I'm in charge?” She asked again.

 

“Yes, your highness.” Sir William responded. Then, after a second had passed he drew his sword from its scabbard and dropped to one knee in front of her, placing the point of the blade on the floor, and holding the hilt with both hands. Sir Portant joined him on the floor on his knees, and so did the Castle Guards who were not immediately watching the door. “We pledge our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor to serve your highness, Princess Malon, Monarch of Hyrule.” Sir William intoned, and the others repeated immediately as they swore fealty to their new sovereign.

 

Something inside of her then took charge and her tears stopped flowing. She was a king's daughter. She had only learned of it this morning, but it would forever define who she was from then on. She had to start acting like one. Malon straightened herself up in her chair and stood over them as regally and with as much dignity as she could. These people didn't need a weepy milk maid now. They needed the power, wisdom, and courage only their Princess could give them. And she would be that for them. She owed her sister no less.

 

“I accept your fealty sir knights. Rise.” She said with authority.

 

“Your orders, your highness?” Sir William asked again.

 

“Ensure the safety of the guests. Bring my sons here. Secure the Castle. Bring me the head of the assassin. Go.” She said flatly. She hoped it was what Zelda would have said.

 

“At once it will be done, your highness. I swear it.” Sir William said, relieved. He then moved to give the commands to carry out her wishes, calling on the guards nearby to relay her orders. No one questioned her right to give them.

 

“Hylia give me wisdom, help me to rule our people as you would have... my sister.” Malon prayed silently. She wanted so much to collapse back into the plush chair and sob, but she refused to allow herself the luxury. She would remain standing and in charge of herself until she knew her people were safe.

 

* * *

 

Somewhere overhead, as she saw the chaos that had erupted and moved to gently guide the terrified people below with gentle reassuring nudges, ensuring that no one else was harmed that day, a being of pure energy heard the quiet prayer being offered to her, and knew that her kingdom would be in good hands, just as she had foreseen.

 

She couldn't have explained to anyone what she knew or how she knew it. But she knew she would never be crowned Hyrule's queen. That wasn't her destiny. Her time in mortal form had passed. She was glad she and her mortal sister had found each other, even if they only discovered their true relationship hours before her having to shed the flesh and blood she had inhabited for so long.

 

Far below her she could see the orcs who were responsible clearly. They appeared to her like dark beacons amidst a sea of good and generous people. She saw that the Castle Guard had also spotted them, even if it was too late and began shooting. They were expert marksmen, but they were reacting in shock, anger, and panic as it looked like they were shooting into the crowd. She made sure no stray bullets hit any of the innocent people in the line of fire. The orcs received no such mercy from her.

 

There were three, as she could see. Two of them, the archers, fell within seconds of the guards' shots. They remained where they fell as the crowd struggled to get away from the black cloaked, grotesque monstrosities. The massive, black crossbow they used lay broken on the floor next to them, torn apart by the large number of bullets that found their targets with, and without, her aid.

 

The third was different, she could sense. A mage or sorcerer of some kind with powers not unlike the great temple sages themselves. This creature with the burnt right hand was dangerous and had to be stopped, she knew. But then she could hear her sisters calling her, letting her know that he would be, by the Hero's hand. So she let him go.

 

She then turned her attention to the dais where she could see clearly, glowing like a beacon in the night, the sacred triangle of the Triforce of Wisdom which once had been housed in her mortal frame. She focused her attention on that, descending again into the chaos and gathering it to herself. She then stole away to the Temple of Time, where she knew the Hero would have need of it soon.

 

 


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

 

“We have an emergency that's developed on P3X-758,” Mr. Woolsey began the hastily called briefing in Atlantis's wood paneled conference room. Colonel Shepherd, Doctor McKay, and the quickly assembled team members of “S.G.”s 15 and 17, two four man stargate special operations teams, sat around the table to receive their instructions.

 

Shepherd had been sparring with Link in the training room that morning when the call had come through and was feeling the bruises acutely from the wooden practice swords. He had always thought Ronan was the man to beat, but the years had not dulled his green clad friend's abilities one bit. If anything he was sharper than he had ever been. Shepherd could testify first hand. He had left Link to go through his sword practice on his own. A single special forces man had stood by the door as a customary precaution with outside visitors, not that he really could have stopped Link if he had tried, but it made Woolsey and the higher brass feel better.

 

Woolsey continued, “About six hours ago, an Ori warship showed up in orbit over the planet and began ringing down squads of soldiers into the village. The soldiers were accompanied and being given orders by a Prior. Within an hour of their arrival, the prior began attempting to convert the town to the Book of Origin by force.”

 

“Hang on, I thought all the Priors in the Milky Way had been converted to our side by the Ark of Truth? What happened to this one?” McKay asked.

 

“Apparently he didn't get the memo.” Woolsey responded.

 

“Okay, so we have a hostage situation.” Shepherd said. “How many Ori soldiers?”

 

“According to the report of the one S.G. team member who managed to make it back through the gate before they took complete control over it, the whole ship's complement of several hundred.” Woolsey said.

 

“We had an S.G. team there, sir?” A man named Major Gatsby, a member of S.G.-15 asked.

 

“Yes, S.G.-10 was there on assignment with Dr. Jackson. He believed P3X-758 was one of Merlin's Arthurian “seed” worlds and was doing more research on it. We believe Dr. Jackson has been taken hostage along with the townsfolk.

 

“Okay, so the gate is under hostile control, and there's an unfriendly warship in orbit over the planet. What's the plan?” Shepherd asked.

 

“You and your teams are to take a jumper and hitch a ride with the Hammond. The Hammond will drop out of hyperspace behind the large gas giant in the system. You, Colonel Shepherd, will pilot the jumper cloaked from your drop off point to the outskirts of the town. From there, your primary mission is to extract Dr. Jackson and the remaining members of the S.G. team from the town. Under the circumstances of so many enemy soldiers, there may be nothing we can do for the regular townsfolk. Our people are the priority. Colonel Carter is in parking orbit over us waiting to pick you up with the jumper.” Woolsey finished. “If there are no more questions then...”

 

“Hey, it really doesn't sound like you'll be needing me on this one, so if you'll excuse me I've got a sword to reforge for our guest.” McKay said.

 

“Yeah, yeah... go ahead. This isn't your kind of thing anyway.” Shepherd said, deep in thought.

 

Surprised but happy at the lack of argument, Rodney quickly made his escape from the briefing room as the other men rose from their seats to go and suit up.

 

“How many townsfolk are being held there?” Shepherd asked Woolsey as the rest of the men left.

 

Woolsey looked very sad at the question. “Over a thousand unarmed men, women, and children.” He answered. “But we can't risk a full conflict with the soldiers or the prior, or it would endanger our own people as well as the town. For all we know they might decide to blast the town from space.”

 

“So we would need to secure the gate, take out hundreds of Ori troops, the renegade prior, and the ship with just my guys?” Shepherd asked.

 

“I don't see how it's possible, but yes.” Woolsey responded.

 

Shepherd then asked, “Let me take Link with us.”

 

“I'm sorry?” Woolsey asked. “I don't think I heard you right.”

 

“I'm serious, let me take Link with us. This is just the kind of thing he specializes in.” Shepherd said again.

 

“I can't let an unknown and unproven man in to jeopardize...” Woolsey began to object, but Shepherd cut him off.

 

“I know him, and he's proven what he can do over and over in all the years I knew him before. He saved our asses a hundred times when he was just a kid, and I watched him singlehandedly take down an entire battalion of orcs and their Ori possessed leader with my own eyes. Just this morning he kicked my ass soundly at sparring.” Shepherd told him. There was no question in his mind that if this was going to turn out well for everyone except the bad guys he would want his old friend with him.

 

“And do you forget that his whole world is depending on him to return and solve their crisis? Not to mention that he's an offworld dignitary staying as our guest.” Woolsey retorted.

 

“I wouldn't worry about his safety. I'd be more worried for the bad guys than for him.” Shepherd said.

 

“This isn't a video game, Colonel. If he dies here, there are real consequences.” Wolsey said.

 

“I know that, and so does he. Look, I'll ask him and see if he's willing.” Shepherd said, partly conceding, but knowing what his friend's answer would probably be. “There are a thousand lives depending on this. Men, women, and children.”

 

Woolsey's face became pained. “I don't like abandoning them any more than you do.” He said quietly. Then he conceded, “Alright, if Link will go with you then you have my permission to bring him along. Your primary objective remain our people. Your secondary objective is liberating the townspeople. Don't sacrifice the first to accomplish the second. Understand?”

 

“Understood, sir. We don't leave our people behind.” Shepherd said and then moved to go retrieve Link. As he walked out the door, Woolsey called out, “Oh and Colonel?”

 

Shepherd stopped and turned around. “Good luck.” Woolsey said sincerely. Shepherd nodded solemnly and then left Mr. Woolsey alone with his thoughts.

 

* * *

Link, Shepherd, and the other eight men of the rescue team waited in the jumper as the Hammond raced through hyperspace to the crisis at hand. None of them left the jumper during the journey for two reasons. The first was because the planet in question wasn't far enough of a journey through hyperspace for any of them to need to stretch their legs, and the second was because of the more unusual member of their special operations team. The fewer people that knew about him, the better, even among the high security cleared crew members of the United States Air Force Vessel _General Hammond_. Technically, he wasn't even supposed to be there, but these were special circumstances.

 

Link had given Shepherd the answer the Colonel expected after he approached him in the sparring room and explained the situation.

 

“How many townspeople?” Link asked.

 

“About a thousand.” Shepherd responded. “Look, I know they're not your responsibility, but these kinds of odds are your forte.”

 

Link nodded silently.

 

“We're only supposed to be going in to rescue our people. Technically, the higher brass won't know you're with us this time. But we can't just leave them at the mercy of the Prior.” Shepherd said. “You'll be on your own for most of it. While we focus on our hostages, I'm asking you to...”

 

Link looked at him, all hints of lightheartedness or friendly conversation gone from his face, which had become stone cold and resolute. Shepherd's sentence trailed off. Link stood up and grabbed one of the very real, very sharp swords by the hilt that hung in the sparring room of the kind that Shepherd's friend Ronan tended to favor. He swung it a few times to get the feel and balance of it. Then, satisfied he slid it into the empty scabbard on his back. “When do we leave?” Link asked, his tone of voice brooking no argument with his coming.

 

“Right now.” Shepherd had said.

 

They had paid a quick visit to the armory where Shepherd picked up his own equipment, and outfitted Link with an additional staff blast proof flack jacket. He then familiarized him with a set of baseball shaped grenades, “just like Eldin bombs,” he had told him as Link nodded in understanding.

 

Shepherd also handed him a P-90 automatic rifle set to single shot. “Remember how to shoot a rifle? Pull this, aim, press the trigger. The red dot will show you where the bullet will go.”

 

“Nice.” Link responded.

 

Lastly, Shepherd handed him a pistol with a full clip. “Alright, good to go, buddy?” He asked.

 

“You don't use a shield?” Link asked.

 

“You can improvise when we get there.” Shepherd had told him. Link just shook his head at the strangeness of it all.

 

After that they had quickly rejoined the rest of the team who were waiting in the jumper bay for their team leader. A few of them gave Link an inquisitive look. “Who is this, sir?” One of them, Collins Shepherd remembered his name, had asked.

 

“Gentlemen this is Link. Link, this is Collins, Gatsby, Jasper, Williams, Zvedny, Kluczinski, Stevens, and Kelly. Link is going to handle the Ori for us while we rescue our people.” Shepherd replied.

 

They all looked at the pointy eared man whom they thought was dressed like a bad-ass Peter Pan without Tinkerbell and then gave a skeptical look to Shepherd. “Seriously, sir?” Jasper asked.

 

“Think Ronan Dex on steroids on a bad day.” Shepherd said.

 

They all did looked at Link again and just shook their heads, “If you say so, sir.”

 

“I do say so, and that's the end of it. He's seen more combat and kicked more ass than any of you and I combined. Understand?” Shepherd said, ending any dissent right there. “Yes, sir!” They all said crisply in reply. “Now get on the jumper. Alright, let's move.” He ordered.

 

That had been a couple of hours previous, and they now all sat in tense anticipation. Once they arrived, it would take another three hours by cloaked jumper from their drop off at the gas giant to reach the planet.

 

“How are you doing?” Shepherd asked Link.

 

Link had been staring out the view port of the jumper as they undocked from the Hammond. “It's like an endless night surrounding us. Your world seemed so small as we left it.” He said. “I wonder if Hyrule is really that small as well, like a tiny blue jewel hanging in the night.”

 

Shepherd had never thought of Link as poetic before. “Yeah, I imagine it is.”

 

“Then our world is so much larger than I had thought if our land is also encompassed by other worlds around it suspended in the blackness.” Link said.

 

“Yeah.” Shepherd said, not understanding where this was going.

 

“Then what's happening in our Sacred Realm doesn't just affect our land and sky. It affects all those other worlds connect to us through the void, just as these worlds are connected to Earth through the void.” Link concluded.

 

Shepherd hadn't thought that far about it. “Yeah, I guess your right.” The implications were staggering.

 

“I am responsible for the fate of millions, maybe even billions of lives.” Link said gravely.

 

Shepherd knew the feeling all too well. “Welcome to our world, buddy. We do that almost every day it seems like.”

 

Link just nodded.

 

* * *

 

The town had just gone into night when the jumper landed. The S.G. team went one direction and bid Link good hunting as he went the other. They agreed to rendezvous back there by dawn. Everything had to be finished by then.

 

Between the two S.G. teams, S.G. 15 was assigned to regain control of the Stargate in case they couldn't escape by means of the puddle-jumper. S.G. 17 and Colonel Shepherd were to infiltrate the village and rescue Dr. Jackson and S.G. 10, assuming they were still alive.

 

Shepherd and S.G. 17 crept silently, weapons drawn towards the town, expecting to have to silently remove any hostile soldiers in their way. There should have been hundreds of them. But as they approached the town, all they began to find were the corpses of Ori soldiers.

 

“What the hell happened here, Colonel?” Williams asked quietly as he inspected the slash and stab marks on the bodies. “My god, it looks like a crazy butcher just came through.” The blood of the dead men was still fresh on the ground.

 

Shepherd knelt down and inspected the corpses. “Looks like Link's gotten here ahead of us. We'd better hurry or there may not be any bad guys left for us.”

 

As they continued their way, always keeping alert, in the distance they heard strangled cries, and then the loud bang of a grenade. It was eery. Staff blasts could be heard being shot into the darkness and never finding their target. “There's got to be something else out there Colonel. No way this was the work of one guy, no matter who he is.” Gatsby said, some fear creeping into his voice.

 

“You ever play _The Legend of Zelda_ , Major?” Shepherd asked him.

 

“Yeah, a couple of times with my kid.” he told him.

 

“The guy on the screen look familiar to you at all? You know, the one in green taking down armies of bad guys all on his own?” Shepherd asked sarcastically.

 

Then comprehension dawned on the soldier, “Jesus, you don't mean our guy's...?”

 

“Good, now you understand why I felt more sorry for these soldiers than I did for us going into this with him, and why I wanted him here.” Shepherd said, feeling justified.

 

“So what do we get to do then? Hang around and hold his coat?” Jasper asked.

 

“No, he has his job to do, and we have ours. And he might need back up with the Prior.” Shepherd said. “Let's go.”

 

* * *

Link had advanced to the inside of the village. Behind him and around the surrounding woods lay the dead and dismembered bodies of those “bad guys”, as Colonel Shepherd called them, who tried to slow him down. “I thought the Colonel said this was going to be difficult.” Link said to himself. He had lost count of the number of men that lay dead. It bothered him that they were all men like Colonel Shepherd and his team, and not monsters like he was used to facing. Did they all have families like I do? Link wondered to himself. What were they fighting for? He also wondered. They were dead, but the question still mattered to him.

 

He stayed to the shadows as he quickly dispatched the guards around the perimeter of the village square with his blade. The sword was silent, and he needed stealth. His other memories informed him of the many times he had needed to sneak through an enemy encampment like this, quietly taking out guards so as not to raise the alarm. This was no different. He had not needed to use one bullet yet, although he had used a grenade farther out on a group of unsuspecting soldiers. “Demon!” The men had cried in terror as he quickly finished them off and disappeared into the shadows.

 

The square cleared, his next focus was this “Prior” sorcerer and his “ship” high above them. Doubtless the prior knew he was here now, and would be making plans accordingly to compensate for the egregious loss of his troops. Would he run, or would he stand and fight? Link wondered.

 

“The truth of Origin does not run in fear from unbelievers.” A gravelly voice said from behind him. Link spun around to face the gray robed, balding man. His face was covered with silver-gold markings, and what hair he had was snow white. He could have been one of Hyrule's Sages.

 

Link didn't respond, but analyzed his position. He had dealt with sorcerers before, he knew. It never ended well for the mage in question.

 

“You cannot win, child.” The Prior said in an almost fatherly way. “Come and let the light of Origin guide you.”

 

“No thank you.” Link responded and quickly tossed a grenade in the Prior's direction.

 

The Prior saw the live grenade and thrust out his hand, sending a wave of force to cast it back at the sender. But Link had also played this game before and used the flat of his sword to bat it back at the Prior where it exploded two feet in front of him, sending the older man flying backwards in pain.

 

Link advanced on him, and the Prior recovered far more quickly than he should have and raised himself up onto his feet. “You will burn in the fires of damnation!” He said to the Hylian. And thrust out his hand again.

 

Link was picked up off of his feet and hung in the air far above the ground. His hands and arms were still free to move as his legs flailed underneath him. He dug his hand into a pouch which hung at his belt and produced a small red crystal. Shouting the name of the goddess, “Din!” The red crystal glowed as he threw it to the ground where it exploded into a fireball spreading outwards and taking the prior by surprise. Link fell to the ground as the Prior was forced to focus his power on keeping himself from being burned. The white hot flames reached him and passed over him beginning to die out before they reached the buildings around the two combatants.

 

Link advanced on him again, and the Prior sent a wave of force at him again, except this time it was weaker. “Let's see who's gods are stronger, sorcerer! Yours or mine.” Link taunted him.

 

The Prior howled in rage at the impudence of the young man. Overhead a great storm cloud began to form and lightning crackled across its face. “The Ori will strike you down for your blasphemy!” The old man raged.

 

“I don't think so.” A familiar voice said from behind the Prior, and the storm clouds collapsed and fell apart as the Prior turned around to see the smiling face of Colonel Shepherd, holding a black disk with small lights orbiting the edge. “Recognize this, spanky?”

 

The Prior didn't see or sense the tiny red dot of light on the back of his head before the shot rang out. His eyes registered surprise as he dropped to the ground. Taking advantage of Colonel Shepherd's distraction, Link hadn't hesitated with the P-90 he had been carrying all night, and hadn't used before now. His aim, aided by the laser sight, had been perfect.

 

“Nice shot, Peter Pan!” Jasper quipped.

 

Link nodded, not understanding the reference.

 

“You could have left some of the bad guys for us, you know.” Shepherd scolded him jokingly.

 

“Don't worry, I did. I didn't hunt the north side of the town. I'm sure there are some there totally oblivious to what just happened.” Link responded in kind. “And there's still the warship overhead.”

 

“Oh goody.” Shepherd retorted. “Going soft are we?”

 

“Collins to Colonel Shepherd.” The voice came through Shepherd's radio as he tapped it with his fingers.

 

“Go ahead.” He responded.

 

“Stargate secure. Hostile forces neutralized.” Collins responded.

 

“Situation secure in the town. Prior has been neutralized. Very neutralized. Some random hostiles still north of the town. Dial up Atlantis and radio Woolsey, apprise him of our situation, and see if he can't get a hold of Colonel Carter to do something about the Ori ship in orbit that's blocking her parking spot.” Shepherd instructed him. “No Prior, no one to fly the ship. It's a sitting duck.” Shepherd explained.

 

“Will do. With pleasure, sir.” Collins responded. “If Woolsey asks, how did you manage to take out the Ori ground troops so quickly?”

 

Shepherd looked at Link, smiled and then said, “Tell him Link was having an off day. He missed a few. Woolsey will know what I mean.”

 

“10-4.” Collins responded.

 

The six of them in the square then did a building to building search for their men, eliminating any remaining Ori guards. About an hour later, they finally found the bound men, Daniel Jackson and the three other men from S.G. 10 seated on the floor in the mayor's house. As they untied them and led them out of the house there was a tremendous explosion overhead as pieces of fireball fell through the atmosphere.

 

“What was that?” Dr. Jackson asked.

 

“I think that was Colonel Carter revoking the Ori ship's parking permit.” Shepherd replied.

 

“Oh.” Daniel replied.

 

“Shepherd to Collins.” Shepherd said into the radio.

 

“Collins.”

 

“Confirm visual on Ori ship kill to Atlantis.” Shepherd said.

 

“10-4. Yeah, we saw it too.” Collins responded.

 

* * *

 

After flushing out the rest of the Ori ground forces, taking as many captive as would surrender, the teams and the hostages they had been sent to rescue returned by jumper through the stargate to Atlantis instead of hitching a ride back with the Hammond.

 

After settling in and debriefing all of them, Woolsey pulled Link and Shepherd aside.

 

“About an hour before you returned, we received a transmitted message in English through the stargate that was addressed to you, Link. I'm sorry but because of security concerns we had to open it and see what it contained.” Woolsey said.

 

“Who would be sending a message to you through the stargate?” Shepherd asked, addressing his friend. “Could Impa have? And why would she have?”

 

“I don't know.” Link said. “The symbols she gave me were supposed to return me to the Temple of Time right after I left. Something must have gone wrong.”

 

“I'm afraid it did, Supreme Commander.” Woolsey said with a great weight on him. “Zelda is dead.”

 

It hit the young man like a physical blow and he staggered backwards, falling to his knees. “That's not possible.” He said.

 

“According to the message it was done by three orc assassins, one of them was a 'sorcerer.' She died at her coronation. I'm so sorry.” Woolsey said.

 

“No, that wasn't supposed to happen. Time wasn't supposed to continue while I've been gone. My men. I had two thousand men guarding the castle and the temple. Good men. Zelda...” Link broke. “I've failed. I've failed the goddess. I wasn't there to protect her. I wasn't there to protect Hyrule.”

 

Shepherd had never seen him like that before, but he had his own feelings on the issue to contend with. He had known the uber-mature, wise, and kind girl since she was ten years old, and had watched her grow up alongside Link. Like Link, there was a time when he had sworn to protect her as well. Like Link, he felt the sting of failure in his mission with the death of someone he had cared about too. He was angry. Very, very angry.

 

“I'm going back with you Link, and we're going to catch that orc sorcerer son of a bitch.” Shepherd declared.

 

“Now wait just a minute, Colonel, I can't authorize you to...” Woolsey tried to put the brakes on him.

 

“I'm going, Woolsey.” Shepherd said again, “with or without your permission.”

 

“I sympathize, Colonel. I met her, too, remember? Even as young as she was then, she was still an extraordinary girl. But I can't authorize an S.G. team to travel across realities on a revenge mission you may not be able to come back from.” Woolsey tried to reason with him.

 

“Not my whole team, just me.” Shepherd said. “It's just going to be Link and I. We both have to do this.” Shepherd said.

 

“Link has to go back. It's his responsibility. He swore an oath to her, just as you swore an oath to the United States.” Woolsey said firmly.

 

“I SWORE AN OATH TO HER TOO!” Shepherd yelled at him. “Dammit, Woolsey! This isn't a request. I'm telling you. You can court-martial me when I get back, if I come back, but I'm going to help him bring that bastard to justice.”

 

Woolsey pursed his lips, seeing there was no way to talk him out of it. “I see,” he said. And the truth was he did see. Shepherd had revealed the heart of the matter to him in his outburst. Like Link, he saw himself as having failed in his sworn duty. The way Shepherd saw it, he left Zelda behind and he couldn't live with that. Woolsey then bowed his head for a few minutes and gathered his thoughts. There was dead, uneasy silence between the two men. Then Woolsey said. “I think we can forgo the court-martial if you make it back. I'll keep this one off the books. If anyone asks, I'll tell them you're on emergency family leave. That'll be close enough to the truth at any rate. With luck, you'll be back before anyone knows you're missing.”

 

“Thank you.” Shepherd said. “I'm sorry for yelling.”

 

“We'll discuss proper protocol in my office later.” Woolsey remarked.

 

Shepherd walked over to his devastated friend and took him by the arm. “We will find him, Link. You and I together. I'm going with you.” Link looked up at him, and John Shepherd could see eons of pain trapped behind his eyes at the loss of a relationship with a person he had known at many different times for thousands of years. There was no describing the depth of it. “We'll get him, buddy.” Shepherd clasped him by the arm and raised him up.

 

When Link spoke his voice was gravelly, and sounded exhausted. “Who sent the message?” He asked.

 

“The name at the end was 'Hylia.'” Woolsey said.

 

At the sound of that name Link straightened up and his whole demeanor changed. “Hylia.” He repeated.

 

“That's not possible,” Shepherd said in confusion, “if Zelda's dead then who...”

 

“She's rejoined the goddesses. She wanted me to know what had happened.” Link told the two men. “Was there anything else in the message?”

 

Unsure of things now, Woolsey continued, “Yes. The message said something about Nayru's piece being safe. Hylia also wanted you to return home as soon as you could. I don't understand, who is Hylia?”

 

“Zelda ascended.” Shepherd explained. “Zelda was supposed to be the line of incarnations of the goddess Hylia. When she died, she must have ascended. By signing 'Hylia' to the transmission she was trying to tell us she was still around.”

 

“But that's good right? That means she can retake human, or Hylian form?” Woolsey said.

 

“She won't though.” Link answered wearily. “There's no need for her to any longer. She's going to rejoin the other gods of Hyrule. I think she was trying to tell me as much before I left.”

 

Shepherd's anger and frustration abated a bit. It lessened the blow to know that while Zelda might have died, she wasn't lost. He was still going with Link though.

 

“McKay to Woolsey.” The call came through the headpiece.

 

Woolsey stepped to the side, away from the two men and answered, “yes, go ahead, Doctor.”

 

“We think it's done.” McKay said. “You want to send our guest down to give her a spin?”

 

“Not a moment too soon, doctor. I'm sending him down now with Colonel Shepherd. I think he could use some good news right now.” Woolsey said.

 


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

 

Hyrule field began to wilt, as did the Faron woods. With every hour past noon everywhere Hylia looked as she flew from Hyrule Castle to the Temple of Time she could see the black rot of the blight affecting every living plant, and even the smallest animals were now being affected. And there was nothing she could do about it. The corruption from the Sacred Realm was spilling out everywhere and into everything. Soon, there would be nothing left but a barren, lifeless rock. And then that too would be gone in time, dissolved by the blight. Hyrule was rotting from the inside out. By sundown, there would be nothing left to save.

 

She had sent her message to Link through the portal of time ahead of her. He would be devastated at Zelda's death, she knew, but there was little to comfort him except to let him know of her continued survival in this form. She hoped that would be enough for now.

 

Below her, on a stolen horse, rode the orc mage in a black hooded cloak across the plains of the field. They were heading in the same direction, she knew. There was something unnatural about the horse's gait and manner she saw deeply. The mage had used some magic to make the black horse run faster.

 

She resisted the temptation, again, to strike down the mage. That was a battle not meant for her, she knew. She had more pressing business in the temple before the creature arrived there as well. She sped on and far outpaced the mortal demon and his bewitched mount, leaving them behind.

 

The being of pure energy swept past her faithful, gray uniformed guards of the Sacred Grove, who had been oblivious to anything that had just occurred that day. Instead they were growing more and more concerned about the black rot which was spreading in the woods around them at an ever increasing rate. She had known all of them by name as they rotated in and out of the castle, watching over Impa and her mortal form by turns. They noticed only a passing warm breeze through the dying trees, and a sparkle of light they took for the sunlight dappling through the leaves.

 

She opened the portal into the temple and flew inside to find her faithful guardian. Assuming a more familiar, Hylian form she called out to her from the hallway, “Impa!”

 

“I am here, my Lady.” Came Impa's response, but not from the form she was expecting as another being of pure light coalesced into the Impa she had known thousands of years ago, a much younger, strong female Sheikah warrior.

 

“Oh, Impa...” Hylia said. “How did this happen?”

 

“It would have happened sooner or later, my Lady, as it does with all things. Another Sage of Time will be awakened and come to take my place. No, we have a greater problem.” The warrior said, and pointed to the blackened triangle which lay dark and cracked on the marble.

 

“Oh no.” Hylia responded. “Then everything is truly lost, isn't it? Without Din's piece?”

 

“I don't know my Lady. We might be able to repair it, you and I, but not with the amount of time we now have. The blight is seeping through the time stream as well, no matter where in time we went, the clock would run out in about five hours.” Impa said. “There is another way.”

 

“Yes, I know.” Hylia said sadly. “But will he understand what needs to be done in time?”

 

“That remains to be seen, my Lady.” The Sheikah replied.

 

“My dear Hero...” Hylia said sadly. “I must ask one last task of you.”

 

* * *

 

“I give you the _lamna clavia_. Otherwise known as the newly reforged Master Sword.” Rodney McKay declared with a dramatic flourish as he gestured like a magician towards the sapphire hilted, gleeming sword which lay on the red and silver replication table in front of them.

 

“Is it truly the Master Sword?” Link said with hopefulness, unwilling to believe his eyes.

 

“Fully restored to factory specs!” McKay said. “Only thing is we haven't been able to test the A.I. or any of the sword's uh... unique capabilities. We think we were able to salvage most of Fi's memory core, but we can't check it.”

 

“Why not?” Shepherd asked.

 

“We can't touch it.” Bill Lee piped up disappointedly.

 

“You can't touch it?” Shepherd repeated.

 

“The specifications for the sword came up with a big warning in the fine print. It's got a security function built into the hilt like a DNA scanner, similar to the other Ancient tech we've got laying around here.” McKay told him.

 

“So you have to have the Ancient gene. What's the big deal?” Shepherd asked. Over half the people on the base, including himself had the Ancient gene. So, for that matter, did Rodney.

 

“Oh no, no, no my friend. No this I.D. scanner is way more specific than that. In fact, there's only two sets of very, very specific gene markers which the sword will recognize and accept. Anyone else, it fries.” McKay explained. “Anyone else that's mortal, I should add. An ascended being could use it no problem.”

 

“What do you mean it fries?” Shepherd withdrew his hand from the near the sword quickly after it drifted of it's own accord to the shiny, sharp blade.

 

“It's better not to dwell.” Dr. Lee said.

 

“You said there were two sets that it would recognize?” Shepherd asked.

 

“Yep, one male and one female. Anyone else, and they're toast.” McKay confirmed.

 

“One male, the Hero,” Link said, comprehending. “Only the Hero may touch it. And one female... Zelda, Hylia's incarnate form. It was Hylia who first forged the blade.”

 

“So, you going to check it out?” McKay asked Link with anticipation.

 

Link reach out his hand to touch the cross guard gently. The two men had seen to it to remove the jewel which had caused the damage. He then let his fingers drift down to the handle and grasped it with his left hand, his sword hand. Under his gauntlet, he could feel the golden triangle embedded there respond energetically.

 

The sword glowed and seemed to come to life at his touch. “Recognition accepted,” a very familiar voice which he hadn't heard for far too long reassured him. “Master Link, accepted.” And the dear image of his oldest friend next to Zelda herself, a surreal looking blue and silver image of a young woman emerged into the small, Ancient laboratory.

 

“Master Link? What has happened? I seem to be missing part of my memory.” Fi asked Link in confusion.

 

“There was an explosion, Fi. You were damaged, but these men restored you.” Link replied happily. He wished he could hug the image tightly, but he knew it wasn't possible.

 

“I see. My gratitude then, dear sirs.” Fi said, addressing the two scientists who watched her with rapt fascination.

 

“Are you fully functional Fi?” Dr. Lee asked, fulfilling a secret fantasy of his.

 

“Systems check...” She said, then paused for a brief moment. “Yes, I am one hundred percent operational, and I am at full power.” She resumed. “What has happened since my convalescence?”

 

McKay and Shepherd were a little taken aback by what they knew was a computer program talking about its “convalescence.” “Uh... well...” Dr. Lee tried to answer her.

 

“The Princess is dead.” Link told her directly. “Zelda has been murdered.”

 

“What?” Rodney said, hearing the news for the first time. “You didn't tell me that!” He accused Shepherd. “Oh, that sweet kid...”

 

“We just found out about it ourselves right before we came down here, Rodney.” Shepherd said, keeping his tone even. Rodney truly looked upset by the news. Of course, Shepherd reminded himself, he had known her too.

 

“Well, what are we going to do about it?” McKay pressed. There was an anger in his eyes Shepherd rarely saw, except when one of his friends was hurt or in trouble.

 

“You're going to stay here. Link and I are going to return to Hyrule and hunt the bastard down after we fix the Sacred Realm.” Shepherd said.

 

“Princess Zelda has been terminated?” Fi asked. “Then I project a one hundred percent chance that Hylia has resumed her divine form.”

 

“Yeah, that's what we figured too.” Shepherd told her.

 

“Resumed her divine form, what does she mean?” McKay asked in confusion, then comprehending he said, “Oh... She ascended, didn't she?”

 

“Yeah, we think so. Link got a transmission through the gate while we were gone signed by Hylia.” Shepherd told him

 

“So she's not dead then? She's alive, just ascended right?” McKay stated. “Well, that's great news, it means she can retake human form whenever she wants!”

 

“She won't.” Link said flatly. “She's not coming back as Zelda.”

 

“Master Link, as long as the Demon King still exists...” Fi began to correct him.

 

Link stopped her, “He doesn't Fi. We destroyed him and stopped him from coming back permanently.”

 

“Oh. Recalculating.” She said. “Then I concur. There is a very low probability that she would choose to return to mortal form.”

 

“Oh, wow. Bummer.” Dr. Lee said. “I mean, it's great she's not actually dead, but what a bummer that there's no more Zelda.”

 

McKay looked at him, for a minute wondering what world he was actually from, and then said, “Yeah... Listen there's one more thing we wanted to show you.”

 

“What's that?” Link asked, removing his borrowed blade from the scabbard at his back and sliding the Master Sword back into its rightful home, Fi disappearing into thin air, waiting to be called on again.

 

“I took the liberty of digging a little deeper into Atlantis's database, and I came up with something I thought you'd like to see.” McKay pointed to a wall mounted screen where lines of Ancient text began to cross the screen and a very familiar image of three triangles was displayed.

 

“The Triforce?” Link asked.

 

“Yes, and also in Ancient the _Trevirti,_ or the 'three virtues.' It was designed and manufactured originally right here. I couldn't believe it when Bill and I found it... Well, actually Bill went digging, but anyways...” McKay said.

 

“You're kidding.” Shepherd said.

 

“Not in the slightest.” McKay responded. “No, this sacred relic was originally designed as a defensive weapon against ascended beings. Remember how the Ori could channel the belief of their mortal followers to give them more power? Well this thing was designed to do something similar in order to affect the fabric of reality. It focused and amplified the belief of a single mortal to alter their reality. It's designed in such a way so that only mortals such as you and I can use it, and only those mortals the designers, three Ancients named Din, Nayru, and Farore, found worthy to wield it. Each piece was meant to amplify the belief in a single virtue and thus amplify the virtue within the mortal using it. Taken together, the three pieces could shape reality on any plane in any way they needed to. What's more interesting is that it is only an amplifier. The person has to have the power, wisdom, and courage already within themselves to make it work.”

 

Link was silent at this new information. He then asked, “It's not the Triforce itself then that gives the bearer those abilities?”

 

“No.” McKay responded. “The bearer has to have them in the first place or it doesn't work.”

 

Link remained silent and pensive after that.

 

“Okay, so are we good to go then?” Shepherd asked to all present.

 

“Yeah,” Link replied quietly, “We're good to go.

 

* * *

 

It had taken about an hour after that for Rodney to figure out how to enter the gate coordinates Impa had given them, or even if the “Dial Home Device,” as they named the coordinate entry computer, would even accept them. “Ten symbols! Man! We can't do this every day.” He kept complaining to anyone in particular in the control room who would listen. “I mean, with the three zed 'p.m.'s we can do it, but it's going to cost us some and change.” It amazed him at all that the city's computer even accepted the extended address. “Wow, that's complex.” He would mutter on occasion, but in the end, it was all set up.

 

“The city's computer, remarkably, was already set up for these kinds of addresses. We had just never conceived of trying it.” McKay would later explain. “And I wouldn't dare to try and calculate one myself without knowing the actual target reality. And for me, that's saying something.”

 

“Well that only makes sense doesn't it?” Woolsey added as he listened to Rodney's report in the conference room.

 

“How so?” McKay asked.

 

“Well, Link's people came from here, didn't they?” He explained.

 

“Well, yeah... but... Okay, anyways, the point was that it's enormously complex, even for the Ancients.” McKay tried to recover.

 

Shepherd, listening, had suited up with his own standard, black tactical gear, P-90, grenades, pistol, C-4, and the sword Link had borrowed previously as an afterthought. Upon remembering that they were chasing a “sorcerer,” he also added an extra special package to his backpack just for him.

 

Link was back in his own mail and green tunic, the Master Sword strapped to his back once more. He didn't really understand all of what McKay was saying, but then he never had to begin with, and that was just fine. He might use magic, and magical objects when the need arose, but he would never consider himself a magician of any kind, nor had he any desire to. Like Shepherd, whom he understood very well, he was a soldier, a warrior, and always would be.

 

“So, we'll be gating back to the Temple of Time, right?” Shepherd asked Link.

 

“Yes. Impa was to set up a clock to let me know how much time I had left.” Link responded.

 

“Okay, so we know you're carrying the Triforce of Courage already, Hylia said Nayru's piece was safe, right?” Shepherd asked. “And we can presume that she already knows the score, and will have brought it to the temple?”

 

“Right.” Link responded.

 

“Just to be clear, what about the third piece, Power?” Shepherd asked.

 

“Impa has it.” Link responded. “Also in the temple.”

 

“So we just need to get you back, grab the other two pieces, open the portal to the Sacred Realm and take the completed Triforce in, right?” Shepherd wanted to be clear. “Simple enough. I like simple.”

 

“Should be.” Link agreed.

 

“And after that, we go orc hunting.” Shepherd said.

 

“Absolutely.” Link said, a cold steely look in his eyes.

 

“Anything else?” Shepherd asked the other three men at the table.

 

No one said anything.

 

“Okay, that's settled then. McKay, dial it up.” Shepherd said.

 

The last thing Woolsey said to Colonel Shepherd and Link before they stepped through the gate was “Good hunting. To the both of you.”

 

They both nodded, and then walked through the blue shimmering field and were gone.

 

* * *

 

Within the hour, the two gray, pointed ear, grotesque heads had been brought before Malon in her secured sitting room on a wooden plank and set before her on a table, just as Sir William had promised. Her two five year old boys, brought immediately to their mother by the guards who had shielded them with their own bodies, stood looking without emotion on the remains of the creatures that had murdered their beloved aunt and Princess in cold blood. What innocence they might have still had was being stripped away from them. The expression on her children's faces reminded her so much of her husband that she wanted to let the tears flow that threatened to overwhelm her, but she wouldn't.

 

The creatures looked to her surprisingly like Hylians, but Hylians twisted and disfigured in some dark nightmare of torture. She had not see the bodies, riddled with the shots fired at them by the uniformed Castle Guard. Those were to be dragged out of the castle and burned. Link had told her about this filth before, and about his adventure into their world. The world of the king and queen who now sat with her and her two sons.

 

“They are called 'Uruks,' your highness. 'Orcs' in our common tongue.” King Eldarion told her as he stood by. He had also been offered a chair, but politely declined and his wife sat opposite the princess instead. “They are a degenerate race, an ancient, twisted offshoot of the race of elves who first populated Middle Earth.”

 

Malon knew all of that. Link had told her of it, but she politely held her tongue in patience as she hoped her sister would do, and let him speak.

 

“I was led to believe that our forces, yours and mine had hunted the last of them down all the way into Mordor and slaughtered them all.” Eldarion told her apologetically. “I had no idea that any still remained.”

 

Malon digested this information, and then asked Sir William, who was also standing by, “Are these the only ones?”

 

“As far as we know. Our men are searching the Castle as we speak.” Sir William told her.

 

King Eldarion added, “My own company of guards are at your disposal as well. Anything you need, you have but to ask.”

 

Sir William looked to Malon for confirmation, and Malon nodded her assent. He then went to employ the dark blue uniformed men of Gondor to the task as well.

 

“Do we have any idea how they entered our world from yours, your majesty?” Malon asked. She fought to keep any tone of accusation from her voice.

 

“Our linking book is under heavy guard in the Citadel of Minas Tirith. The only ones who were permitted through it were vetted by my steward himself. Although we could not all come through at once, that is true.” King Eldarion replied. “My retinue's servers, and porters came through first.”

 

“The filthy creatures were wearing black, hooded cloaks of a type that seemed to shimmer and move with some kind of magic.” Sir Portant added, thinking it might be relevant. “I've taken the liberty of having our own mages investigate them.”

 

“Well done, Sir knight.” Malon approved.

 

“Your highness, we have another situation developing as well.” Sir Portant told her. “A hawk was sent from Captain Oliver at the Sacred Grove yesterday morning for your husband. He left the castle before he could receive the message. I apologize for not giving it to you before now.” He then handed her the piece of paper which he had been holding for his Supreme Commander.

 

She took the paper and read it, then she re-read it. Without a word, she rose from her chair and went to a window to look out on the castle gardens.

 

“Your highness, what is it?” Sir Portant asked, concerned.

 

She didn't answer but looked intently at the colorful flowers, and verdant leaves of the foliage she and Zelda had often walked through together as friends. They didn't seem quite as colorful as they did. The harder she looked, the more she found. Black streaks and spots dotted the foliage and the longer she stared, she realized, the more it was growing.

 

Do I tell them? She wondered. Do I tell them Hyrule may not survive this day? Was this what called my husband away? She had happened upon the council chamber looking for Zelda yesterday morning, and by chance had overheard the desperate plan to reforge the Master Sword, but not the reason why.

 

“I believe we have taken too much advantage of his majesty, Sir Portant.” She said turning around. “I think, with great respect for your majesties, King Eldarion and Queen Elrissa, that it would be best for you are your people to return to your kingdom before sundown.”

 

“It has been no trouble, your highness. We would not dream of leaving you and yours until we are sure you are well in hand.” Eldarion protested.

 

“Nevertheless, your majesty. As we love you and your people, so I insist you and yours return through the linking book as quickly as possible. What Hyrule must face now must be our burden to bear alone.” Malon told him with as much grace as she could. “And let us all pray to the divinities we hold dear that my husband found what he was looking for.”

 

* * *

 

Link and Shepherd emerged through the portal and back into the main hall of the Temple of Time. In front of them the wooden clock still stood where Impa had promised it would be, on a stool.

 

“No, that can't be right.” Link said, looking at the clock. “It says there's only a few hours until sundown, the day of the coronation. We need to find Impa. She should have been right here.”

 

“Okay, she's not here, let's go find her. She wouldn't have gone far.” Shepherd said. “If she said she'd be waiting for you, then she will be.”

 

The two moved down the hallway and deeper into the temple where they encountered an empty, ancient, bloodstained red robe pinned to the floor with a crudely forged sword. Around it were smashed jars, scorch marks, and burned stone.

 

“This doesn't look good, Link.” Shepherd said. “That looks like Impa's robe, but no Impa.”

 

“There's blood on it.” Link said, kneeling down to inspect it. “And the sword is orcish.”

 

Shepherd turned around to search the floor around the scene. It was then that his eye spotted the cracked, dark triangle. “Uh, Link.” He said, calling him over. “Is that what I think it looks like?”

 

Link stood up and turned around, directing his attention to what Shepherd was pointing to with his rifle. He reached out and picked up the cold relic, running his finger along the crack in its surface. “No... It can't be. That's impossible.” He said holding it up reverently. Under the gauntlet of his left hand, he could feel his birthmark respond to the presence of the dead Triforce, if only weakly. There was no question.

 

“That's what I didn't want to hear.” Shepherd said. “Now what do we do?”

 

“You must do what you came to do.” A familiar, yet younger voice addressed them.

 

Both Shepherd and Link spun around to find a tall, silver haired, well muscled woman. Shepherd raised his rifle as Link drew the Master Sword from his back. “And who are you?” Shepherd said.

 

“Someone who knows you well enough to know you are not so foolish as to try and use that on me, Colonel.” The woman said.

 

“Impa?” Link asked her, as the familiar face emerged from his memory. “What happened to you?”

 

The woman pointed at the robe on the ground, “That happened, and I have shed my mortal shell.”

 

Shepherd lowered his weapon. “Both you and Zelda.”

 

“We have both moved on. Our time in this world is done yes. But now, Hero, you must do what you came to do. You must restore the Master Sword to its proper place and enter the Sacred Realm.”

 

“How? The Triforce is broken and dark. It won't work!” Link protested.

 

“Power, Wisdom, and Courage. You must find within yourself the one thing that binds them all and bring them into the Sacred Realm. Unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, Hero, it remains alone. But if it dies, it gives new birth to countless others.” Impa said. “Do you understand, Hero of Hyrule?”

 

“There's subtle, and then there's just encrypted! What is she talking about Link?” Shepherd asked in confusion.

 

Link did understand. “Unless the three virtues are already within me, the sacred relics can do nothing.” He said. He understood it now in a way that he never had before.

 

Impa nodded. “Go, Hero. Fulfill your destiny.”

 

“Link, what's going on? What is she talking about?” Shepherd demanded.

 

But Link remained silent, and became resolute in his purpose, chanting quietly under his breath, “Power, wisdom, and courage...” Again and again trying to summon all of them within himself for the final task he knew he was always meant to do. He took off back to the entry hall of the temple, and Shepherd ran after him.

 

“Link wait, stop!” He shouted, but Link wouldn't.

 

The younger man only stopped in front of steps to the pedestal that had once housed the sword which now lay on his back, summoning all the courage he had been blessed with. He drew the sword from his back. As he did so, the triangular birthmark on the back of his left hand glowed, faded, and then disappeared altogether. In front of him appeared a radiant golden triangle, shining like the sun.

 

“Link...?!” Shepherd caught up to him. “What just happened? Why did it just do that?”

 

“Because I don't need it anymore, Colonel.” Link responded, as the faces of all the people he had loved, the land he had fought for, and especially his beloved wife and sons flowed through his mind and heart giving him an internal power he had never encountered before and couldn't describe.

 

“What do you mean? Dammit, Link, talk to me!” Shepherd began to get angry with panic. He didn't need his friend going off the deep end now.

 

“I know what I have to do. I have one last thing to give for my world, my Princess, and my family.” Link said as he ascended the steps to the pedestal, which began to glow with ancient writing upon the approach of the Sword.

 

“Link you can't go in there without the Triforce! It will rip you apart!” Shepherd shouted at him, arguing.

 

“Power, wisdom, courage,” Link said firmly, solemnly, and peacefully, “and the virtue which unites and empowers all of them, love.” He then turned one more time to the man who had been a kind of mentor, and great friend, “John, tell my wife and boys I love them very much.” And then he thrust the Master Sword, the Hylian key blade into the pedestal where it slid down and stopped.

 

“Portal access granted.” Fi's voice rang out. “Sacred Realm opened.”

 

And as Shepherd watched, a sudden vortex of blue energy surrounded his young, green clad friend, the kid brother he never had, and then he was gone. And all was silent in the timeless glowing chamber.

 

* * *

 

Link found himself inside writhing darkness. It felt alive, and he sensed the echo of an old and familiar presence in it. It was a presence that hated him with a venom and a fury that seemed endless. And it knew that the object of its hate was now within its grasp as it began to pummel him, and eat away at him painfully like acid to his skin.

 

Link forced himself, as he hung suspended in the inky black void, to focus only on his love for his wife and sons. He used that love to fuel his faith as he began to wish. He wished with all of his being for a new world, a new Hyrule, free of the corruption, hatred, and darkness of the Demon King's curse; free of the rot which blackened and defiled the Sacred Realm. It became the core of his one thought which he refused to let go of; a new creation founded on his love.

 

Around him the corruption ate away greedily at his clothing, digging into him with pure malice, and then through his chain mail underneath, until it began to dissolve the skin underneath sending waves of pain. His skin, blood and bone began to rot away into the unholy blackness.

 

He stubbornly held on to his loving wish, letting go of his need for survival, letting go of his mortal remains as they burned away from him, letting go of his past lives and adventures as the Hero, and then in his love for them he said goodbye to his family and gave everything up for his one radiant, burning goal: a new world.

 

The last of Link's mortal flesh dissolved and in it's place remained a being of pure light and that light exploded and expanded, consuming the darkness around him, reaching into every corner, and every dark place of the Sacred Realm, cleansing it, restoring it, reviving it, and filling it with a beauty it had no known for eons of normal time. It was a beauty born of sacrificial love.

 

* * *

 

On the mortal plane, as Captain Oliver and his men had watched in despair as the grove around them withered and died, so they now watched in wonder at its rebirth. The black smears which had been foliage disappeared altogether and new growth rapidly shot forth from the ground. The withered, blackened trees surged with new life as verdant, lively green leaves exploded from their branches. New mushrooms popped out the ground where just the morning before Impa had bemoaned their loss. All around them it seemed if the grove and the surrounding forest awakened like it had never done before and sang its praises to the divine beings that had created it.

 

* * *

 

“Your highness, you need to see this.” One of Malon's guards called her back to her window. The contingent from Middle Earth had not yet left, and their majesties were still in the sitting room. Malon rushed over to the window to see the withering and blackening castle gardens jump to life again as the flowers grew and exploded into a dazzling array of colors.

 

“Oh, my...” She said.

 

“Your highness, what's happening?” King Eldarion asked.

 

“Link... was successful.” She said haltingly, trying to control the surge of emotions within her.

 

“Should we still go then?” His majesty asked.

 

“No, I don't think there's any need any longer,” she said, struggling to remain in control. “I think we're all perfectly safe now.”

 

* * *

 

The new creation of Hyrule that began in her Sacred Realm spread like an all consuming, fast moving wildfire that purged and cleansed the land, and reached out to all the worlds connected to it, and the corruption of the Demon King's darkness was no more.

 

Link's light remained in the Sacred Realm spreading and diffusing through all it touched with the power, wisdom, and courage his love brought to it.

 

Then in the peaceful silence of that realm, a familiar loving voice spoke out to him, “Well done, my son. I am so proud of you, my dear sweet boy.” The sweet song of Saria's voice, Farore's voice, filled Link's being with music.

 

“Is Hyrule safe?” Link asked.

 

“Yes, my son. Now, and forever.” His mother's voice sang joyously. “Because of your sacrificial love and faith, Hyrule now has a future and a hope that can't ever be taken away from her.”

 

Then another familiar voice sang out, “Yes, Hero. Your labors are finally done. We can both rest now.”

 

“Hylia?” Link asked. “We can rest?”

 

“Yes.” She said again. “Our work is done.”

 

“What about Hyrule? Who will watch over them?” Link asked.

 

“We will always watch over our world, as we have since the beginning. But your story is finished. Now, it's time for others to begin their stories.” Farore told him.

 

“I have one more thing I must do before I can rest.” Link said, resolutely.

 

“Go to her my son, but we cannot permit you to remain. Your time, the time of the legend of Zelda, is finished.” She said.

 

“I understand.” Link said sadly. “But I must tell her myself.”

 

* * *

 

Shepherd stood for what seemed like an eternity staring at the pedestal, unaware of anything else around him. “Dammit Link, why do you always have to just rush headlong into trouble!” He swore more than once.

 

“His work is done.” The woman's voice spoke behind him. “But your work yet remains, Colonel.”

 

Shepherd turned around to see the young, warrior woman standing behind him. She was glowing with an inner light that he had only seen a few times before with people whom he had been very close to. People who had since passed to another plane of existence.

 

“Impa. What's happened to him?” Shepherd asked.

 

“He has fulfilled his calling as he was always meant to and given Hyrule new life. His time in this plane of existence is done. But yours still continues, Colonel, and there are those who have need of your help.” Impa told him solemnly.

 

Shepherd looked back to the sword in the pedestal and watched as the symbols on the pedestal which had remained lit for some time, finally faded until they could no longer be seen. “He's not coming back.” Shepherd finally admitted to himself.

 

“And you still have work to do, do you not, Colonel?” Impa challenged him.

 

“Yes, I do.” Shepherd responded.

 

“I believe you will find the one you seek just beyond the entry where the guards have been trying to stop him. If you hurry, you may save their lives.” She said.

 

“Can I expect any help?” He questioned her as he moved towards the entry portal.

 

“I can no longer interfere.” She said.

 

“Where have I heard that before?” Shepherd snorted, and then plunged through the doorway into the outside world, as time seemed to speed up around him and resume its normal flow.

 

Outside the doorway, the air was fresh and clean, and the colors around him so vibrant and stunning it was almost disorienting. “Whoa.” He exclaimed. “That's some makeover.” As his senses were filled with the fragrant yet delicate scents of the flowers, and forest, and sights and sounds of the colors and music of Hyrule's natural world.

 

And then, nearby, he heard gunshots ring out and men yelled and screamed in pain, and he broke into a dead run towards them.

 

* * *

 

“Hey ugly!” Shepherd called out, firing off a round that took the big orc by surprise in the shoulder. He had emerged into the clearing of the grove where two years before he remembered seeing the broken body of the skull kid, the previous guardian of the grove, lying motionless. Around the clearing lay the stunned and twisted, but living bodies of the guardsmen who had attempted to stop the creature. Near them lay their Hylian rifles, tossed about the clearing like twigs fallen from a tree. The orc had one of the guardsmen up in the air, and Shepherd had fired to get the monstrosity to drop him.

 

Without turning, or looking at him, the orc reached out with his left hand and Shepherd's P-90 flew out of his own hands and far away across the clearing. Okay, Shepherd thought, I've played this game before too. Thinking quickly he pulled his backpack to the ground while the orc remained distracted, opened it, and flipped a switch on the special package inside.

 

The effect was instantaneous, as the gray uniformed guardsman fell to the ground, and the orc yelled, “What sorcery is this?!”

 

“What's wrong big and ugly?!” Shepherd called out, “someone shut off the power?”

 

The orc turned his full attention to Shepherd then and drew a huge sword from under the back of his black cloak. “You will pay for that, puny human!” The orc yelled as he stalked towards Shepherd.

 

Shepherd drew his own sword from its makeshift scabbard on his back and, with an eagerness he seldom experienced in combat, ran to meet him. He knew this would have to be quick, the anti-prior device wouldn't last forever.

 

The orc swung hard at him, but Shepherd met the blow and danced around him. “What's wrong, you can kill old women and little girls, but you can't stand up in a real fight without your powers?” He taunted him.

 

“Do you know, puny human, how many old women and little girls of my people your race has slaughtered in my world? I am one of the only ones of the Uruk race left.” The orc raged at him.

 

“I've had a really bad day, and somehow you're part of the cause of it, so I don't really care at the moment!” Shepherd yelled back then made to strike the orc from behind, but the creature moved quickly and parried the strike.

 

“Your people are guilty of genocide! And you judge me for seeking justice, filthy man spawn!” The orc yelled as his blade sliced through the air, narrowly missing Shepherd's head by inches.

 

Shepherd jumped back as far as he could, quickly drew the pistol from it's holster on his waist, found the creature's unarmored head, and took the shot. “I've got your justice right here.” He said as he fired.

 

The bullet found its mark between the creature's mishappen black eyes. A second and third struck the creature in the chest, and then Shepherd just kept firing until the clip was empty. An old habit he had developed from dealing with unfriendly wraith. The orc mage dropped to his knees and fell over to the side lifeless and unmoving.

 

Then, in a fit of barbarism uncharacteristic of him but which just felt right that one time, he took his sword and severed the orc's head from his lifeless body. “Court's adjourned.” He said decisively.

 

“Colonel Shepherd?” One of the men on the ground sat up, and called out weakly.

 

“Yeah!” He returned, adrenaline still coursing through his veins. After one last look at his handiwork, he ran to the side of the man who called out to him.

 

“I know you.” Shepherd said as he tended to him. “Lieutenant Oliver, right? Fourth infantry division?”

 

“Actually,” the mustachioed man said, trying to regain his voice, “It's Captain of the Sacred Grove Guard now, sir.”

 

“You must have really impressed Link, Captain.” Shepherd told him. “Congratulations.”

 

“My men...” Oliver said, looking around, taking in the scene around him.

 

They were all moaning, that Shepherd could hear, and that was a good sign. A few twisted limbs, and some cuts, but he knew from experience they would pull through. “Alive, Captain. They're all alive.”

 

“What is happening? Who was that? What was that?” Oliver asked, his voice getting stronger.

 

Shepherd just looked at him, not sure of where to begin, or even how.

 

 


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

 

Shepherd had stayed with the injured men until the sun went down making sure that they were stable, and then went up the long ascent to the Faron woods to get more help. Several of the more mature men recognized him from their early days of training and instantly responded to his requests, sending reinforcements with Hylian medicines down into the grove immediately. No one yet understood how the creature had gotten past the guards stationed at the entry way to the passages below. They then put him on the next train out bound for Hyrule Castle, and he was silent the whole way there, watching as the landscape of Hyrule field flew by.

 

Opposite him in the mostly empty passenger car sat a young, blond haired uniformed guardsman who, try as he might couldn't help but sneak glances at Shepherd. He had volunteered to escort the Colonel to the castle personally.

 

“You might as well ask, corporal,” Shepherd said, noting the rank insignia on the gray uniform. “What's on your mind?” Shepherd didn't really feel like conversation, but the glances of near veneration were beginning to bug him.

 

“I'm sorry, sir.” The young corporal said. He couldn't have been more than nineteen years old. “It's just that, when I was a boy, my father was one of the men under your command. He always spoke very highly of you. Some of the stories he told of the things you did... Well, you were a hero of mine, sir.” The soldier said.

 

Shepherd nodded. On other days, he might have good-naturedly welcomed a little hero worship. But too much had happened that he was still trying to wrap his mind around. He didn't want to be anyone's hero today. “What's your name, son?” He asked him.

 

“Corporal Aidan of the Faron Woods Guard Regiment, sir.” The corporal said.

 

Shepherd thought hard on the man's features for a minute. Then a flash of recognition came to him.”You're Sir Garrett's son, aren't you?” He asked, certain he was right.

 

“Yes, sir!” The man said excitedly, then catching himself tried to regain his composure. “Yes, sir.” He said with more reserve.

 

Shepherd smiled. “Sir Garret was a good man. I'm glad to know it still runs in his family.” He said, trying to say something to make the man feel better about his glances, and to allow the conversation to end gracefully. He was right, Sir Garrett had been a good man. Better than himself at times, Shepherd thought.

 

Seemingly happy and satisfied, the soldier let the matter rest, and Shepherd was thankful.

 

* * *

 

“Your highness?” One of the guards to the council chambers interrupted the session. Malon, her guards, sons, and the royal advisers had all been brought to the much larger and more accommodating council room, where she sat at the head of the table in the royal seat, the prime minister seated at her left hand, while the seat at her right remained vacant, much to her personal anguish.

 

Why hasn't my Link returned yet? If he was successful, where is he? She wondered silently. The advisers all had been debating with each other about the world changing things that had happened that day. Some were arguing, some were accusing one another, some were just trying to keep from having the fire directed that themselves. It did not help that two more orc “terrorist”, as she could think of no other word to describe them, had been found and quickly dispatched by Eldarion's Citadel Guards near the bomb storage of the castle armory. But none else since then.

 

Malon looked at the arguing ministers like they were spoiled children trying to keep themselves from being blamed for something none of them had any control over. “Enough!” Her voice rang out with authority, and the whole table went silent. “That is enough! There is no one here who could have foreseen this except one person, and she is now gone.” Somehow, Malon believed that Zelda had foreseen it, all of it. The thought didn't make her any happier. Why didn't you tell me, my sister? She asked inwardly.

 

“Yes, your highness.” The prime minister spoke, and the others nodded.

 

“None of you are to blame, and neither is King Eldarion and his people.” She exclaimed. “If our history has taught us anything, it's that evil can and will arise when we least expect it, and no one can prepare themselves sufficiently to keep it from happening. We can only respond and fight against it as best we can. What's done is done, and now we who are living must pick up the pieces and carry on. The people out there,” she pointed off into the walls of the castle, “look to us to guide them, and give them the safety and security they need to live their own lives as free from that evil as they can. That is our responsibility gentlemen.” She said, and then her voice became as hard as steel. “If you cannot handle that responsibility, I will find men to advise me who can.”

 

“We understand, your highness.” The minister of foreign affairs said meekly, fear behind his eyes and quavering voice. The others also nodded their assent.

 

But she wasn't done. “Wisdom, Power, and Courage. These are the gifts of the goddesses, and we must use them to lead Hyrule into the new age my sister and my husband bought for us so many years ago with the help of the heroes from the other reality. If you can not be found worthy of these sacred virtues, then you are excused from my council. The Kingdom of Hyrule has no more need of your services. But if you can summon them as the goddesses intended, then join me in fulfilling this duty we have, and let the past remain where it is.”

 

The ministers then looked at her with new eyes. This wasn't the milk maid peasant girl they had taken her to be. They sat up a little straighter, a little stronger for the chastening. The prime minister responded with all the sincerity and respect he could muster for this new woman, this new princess before him. “Yes, your highness.”And once again, he spoke for all of them.

 

Just then a guardsman entered the room. “I'm sorry, your highness but I have a visitor with urgent news. He has asked to speak to you alone.” He said apologetically.

 

“And what visitor is this that can so demand a private audience with her highness in her own council chambers?” The prime minister called out to the guard skeptically. The other men in the room agreeing vociferously and throwing angry stares at the upstart young soldier, who would doubtlessly be on latrine duty from hence on.

 

Just then a figure in a foreign, black clad uniform with dark hair and clean shaven face strode into the room. Each person in the room, except for the young boys who had only heard stories about him, recognized him from so many years prior, even her highness who had entertained and traded with him as a teenage girl.

 

Upon seeing him, and the grave, solemn look on his face Malon's stomach tightened, and her heart pounded. “Leave us.” She demanded. “Everyone.” And without question, they all filed out of the room leaving her with the weary and saddened Colonel. Sir William took the two boys with him as they stared in awe walking past Shepherd's tired form.

 

In the awkward silence that followed, Malon chose to speak first. “Come Colonel, sit at my right hand in my husband's seat.” She invited.

 

He didn't move, but hesitated. “They tell me you're the princess now.” He said. “I can't argue with their choice. You were always good at running things.” He told her, not sure of what to say.

 

“My sister was assassinated this morning. Before she died, she adopted me as her royal heir.” Malon explained, trying to maintain a friendly tone, but he was stalling. “You had a message for me?” She asked, her heart pounding at what it might be.

 

“Look, Malon... I'm no good at this.” He said. He had written more “I regret to inform you...” letters than he could remember, and those were hard enough. He had never wanted to deliver the news personally to the loved one, especially loved ones who were close to his own heart too. “Link...” His face then became even graver, and Malon knew what he was going to say next. And then the tears began to flow uncontrollably, as she choked up into great sobs, unable to contain the emotions that had been churning inside of her all that day. She buried her face in her hands, her elbows on the table as she covered it with her tears.

 

Shepherd quietly approached her, and put his hand on her shoulder, trying in some way to comfort her. “Link saved Hyrule. He saved all of you, Malon.” He told her.

 

“But he's not coming back is he?” She choked out between sobs.

 

“No. No, I don't think he is. It's complicated.” He said, unable to really explain it himself.

 

She looked up at him with red eyes. Her makeup had been smeared. “How did he go?” She asked him.

 

He then tried to relate what he knew the best he could. As he told her, it seemed the hard princess and tough businesswoman he knew melted away and she seemed frightened and vulnerable, like a little girl caught out in a storm with nowhere to run.

 

“I'm sorry, Malon. I tried to stop him.” Shepherd said. “He wanted me to tell you and your boys how much he loved you.”

 

She smiled, and a small laugh escaped her lips. “You couldn't have stopped him. No one could have. He was, after all, the Hero of Hyrule.” She said, wiping her eyes.

 

“Yeah, he certainly was.” Shepherd agreed with her.

 

Then she seemed even more vulnerable, and tears started flowing again, and she said meekly, and scared, “John?” She asked. “Would you hold me for a while?”

 

“Yeah.” he responded as he opened his arms and allowed her to enter his embrace as he held her. “Yeah, I will.” he said. The truth was, he needed to be held just then too.

 

* * *

 

Later that night, after she had sat with her boys until they fell asleep in their own room, Malon undressed in her silent bedchamber and slipped into her nightgown. Her eyes caught the empty gilded hooks on the wall catching the dim glow of the electric light which had been installed. There had hung the broken sapphire hilt she had grown so accustomed to, but she had few tears left to shed to mourn its loss as well. Exhausted, she just wanted to collapse into her bed, perhaps hoping to wake up the next morning from the nightmare her life had become. As she looked at it though, it was yet another reminder of all that had happened. Now, it was just her bed. These had been the Hero's chambers, and soon, not tomorrow, but soon, she would move her things into the royal residence where her sister had slept, and she would seal this room once more. Perhaps, forever.

 

The hooks flickered again, this time more brightly, and she thought she was imagining things. Out from the wall came a single little light, like a tiny blue star, that hovered in the air in front of her. She watched as it began to grow and take shape as a Hylian form; a very familiar Hylian form that she launched herself at with all the passion and strength she had and held on tightly for fear of losing him again.

 

“Link!” She cried out. “My Link! You came back to me!”

 

“Oh Malon.” He said sadly. “I can only stay for a brief moment.”

 

“What do you mean? You're here, and I don't want to lose you again. I thought you were dead. Colonel Shepherd said you had died.” She went on. “You can't leave us again. You can't.”

 

“I don't have a choice, Malon.” He said gently, holding her in his embrace. “I can't stay. My time, the time of the Hero, is done now. The Others won't allow me to continue with you in this new age. I asked for this one chance to be able to say goodbye.”

 

“But I'm so scared.” She said. “I don't know if I can do this without you. What if I'm not strong enough?”

 

“You are. I know you have it within you to be a great leader for these people.” He reassured her, stroking her hair with his hand.

 

“Will I see you again?” She asked.

 

“Hylia and I will always be watching over you, and Hyrule.” He answered her. “But this next part of your journey, you will have to walk without me beside you. No one else can do this for you. This is your destiny, Malon, and yours alone.”

 

She slowly let go of him, looked into the eyes of her husband, her Hero, one last time holding his hands, and said, “I understand. I love you, my husband.”

 

“And I you, my wife. Goodbye.” And then the form he had taken began to glow with a soft but radiant light as the man she had known as friend, husband, and Hero became pure light and energy and ascended up and out of her life.

 

“Goodbye.” She said softly, and then she was alone.

 

* * *

 

A month later, after a period of mourning for the Princess Zelda, the Hero of Hyrule, and the Sages of Light and Time, Malon was crowned Queen of Hyrule by the Sage of Time, a tall, stately handsome elder woman with silver hair. Some murmur rang out through the crowd as she crowned her “Malon, daughter of Gaepora, Queen of Hyrule,” but they died down, and no one mentioned it again.

 

The contingent from Middle Earth remained for that month to pay their own respects and to give what assistance they could in the transition. No more orcs were found in the castle. And so they were present in their full livery, and their Citadel Guard were given a place of honor among the new queen's ceremonial guard presence.

 

Colonel Shepherd, for his short time there, stood in the place of Supreme Commander of Hyrule's Forces for the ceremony at the Queen's right hand, at the appropriate time, he along with the others took the ceremonial oath of fealty to the new majesty. It would have been disrespectful, he justified to himself, to not do so.

 

After she was crowned, she addressed the huge crowd that filled the great hall of the palace, her voice calling out clear and strong. “Today, Hyrule stands on the edge of the unknown. We stand on the precipice of a future we had not dared to dream of; a future that was paid for with our dearest, and most precious blood. It is a new world without a Demon King to threaten us, torture us, and spoil our land, this is true. But it is also a world without our Princess of Wisdom and Hero of Courage to guide us through the darkness.” Malon's tears flowed freely as the pain of their loss, her sister and her husband both, came fresh. “So we must continue on to find our path without them. We must work together to discover the power, the wisdom, and the courage within ourselves, trusting in our beloved goddesses to show us and teach us that if we believe in their gifts and the balance and love that unify them, that just as our ancestral goddesses forged this land once upon a time, so we can reforge it anew following the pathways laid down by our ancient ancestors. I call on every Hylian, every Goron, every Zora, and all of Hyrule's people to join me in this new world, this new age, and together we will ensure a future and a hope for our people.”

 

The tears ran like streams down her cheeks and touched the hearts of all those listening. A great cheer rose up from the crowd, “long live Queen Malon! Long live Queen Malon!”

 

There was one person in the crowd who also was smiling, but sadly as he silently chose to disappear hoping his daughter wouldn't notice. But she did.

 

* * *

 

“Papa, I was going to tell you.” Malon said to the gray haired older man who had been the only father she had ever known. She spoke with him in the sitting room off to the side once she had been allowed to get away that day.

 

“Tell me what, lass? That I wasn't really your father?” The older, portly man with the thick gray and black handlebar mustache sat in the plush chair opposite her. She had been terrified at the hurt the revelation would cause him, and had never intended for him to find out the way he did earlier that day. But she had put it off for so long, telling herself that she needed to focus on the problems of state, that the day arrived, and her time to break it to him gently ran out.

 

She had feared a look of pain, or of betrayal in his eyes. Instead, all she found in his eyes were love and understanding. “Tsk, I already knew that, love. Or suspected it anyhow.” He leaned over and took his daughter's hands in his own rough, calloused ones and said. “I wasn't as much of a simpleton as old Gaepora took me for. I wasn't such a fool, love, that I couldn't count when your mother gave birth at eight months instead of nine. It wasn't hard to put together. She was a wonderful woman for the short time I had with her, and never gave me reason to complain.” He then let go of her hands and leaned back, drew out a pipe, filled it with some loose tobacco he had in a small pouch, and lit it. After taking a long drag, he exhaled the smoke and the fragrant scent of the tobacco filled the room. It was a scent Malon remembered from her childhood. It filled her with good memories of her father.

 

He continued, “Who was I to complain? Me, a farmer deep in the shit being given a flower like that to care for? The King himself introduced me to the most beautiful woman I never had the right to love. And I did. I loved Maola. And then the goddesses blessed me with you. My love, I knew when the time was right you'd find your way back to where you belonged, not wallowing in the horse shit with me and the hands. I always knew you was born to better than that. You had a bigger future than I could ever give you, and I knew it. I'm glad you've found your true home, and Hyrule's the better for it, I think.”

 

“Oh Papa...” Malon said, allowing the tears to well up in her eyes once more.

 

“Now, now, none of that, love. You're a queen now.” The old man gently chastised her. “We're all counting on you. I don't think the road ahead's going to be so easy. You've got to be strong for all of us, my love.”

 

“I know papa.” She said softly.

 

“Now,” he began to change the uncomfortable subject, “I've got some good strong colts out at the ranch that Gillon, the new hand, is breaking for the boys. You've got to bring them out to try them.”

 

“I will, papa, as soon as we can.” She said, and the old man sat back satisfied, puffing on his pipe. She then brought up one more thing. “I have one more thing to ask of you.”

 

“Oh, what's that dearest?” he asked.

 

“Epona.” She said. “She's been heartbroken since Link... hasn't come back. And she's never let anyone else ride her. She won't let anyone else ride her.” She explained.

 

“Except for you, love.” Talon threw in.

 

“Except for me,” she conceded, “but I have White Lady, and I couldn't do that to her. Would you...?”

 

“Take Epona home?” Talon rubbed his chin, “of course, love. I'll see to it she gets the best oats we've got. Don't you worry about her. We'll take good care of her. The goddesses know she'd taken good care of her master. It's the least I can do for the Hero's mount.”

 

“Thank you, papa.”

 

* * *

 

After the coronation, there was only the one task left of choosing Link's true successor as Supreme Commander. Shepherd only really agreed to fill in for the ceremony because he had already held that position once, and it would have been awkward for Malon without someone there in that role. Sir William and Sir Portant, as good of men as they were were getting too old for the role. The Supreme Commander of Hyrule had to be young enough to personally lead the armies of Hyrule into battle from the front, not stay behind in the rear and strategize. Link had always been good at that. Malon, and the two generals gave considerable weight to his opinion on the subject. Shepherd kept thinking back to the young Captain in the Sacred Grove. There was something about the man that had impressed him, even from the years before when he had been a younger lieutenant. After discussing it with her majesty and the two generals, it was agreed that the honor would be given to the man whose courage none of them could question, Captain Oliver.

 

After that, Shepherd realized there was nothing more for him to do as he pensively walked through the courtyard of the palace. Hyrule and the people who had become an extended family for him were in good and capable hands. It was then that Impa appeared to him once more.

 

“It is time for you to return home to your own people, Colonel.” The warrior woman advised him. “Your time here now is done as well. Your people in your own reality have need of you. You have other oaths to fulfill.” She said.

 

“Yeah, I know. I've been thinking the same thing.” He agreed with her. “I don't suppose you could give me a lift, could you?” He asked, unsure of how else he was going to find his way back to the right time and place.

 

Impa made a grand gesture with a sweep of her radiant, glowing arm taking in the entire scene around them. As she did so, the entire space around them changed to the interior of the entry hall of the Temple of Time. Shepherd's clothes had changed from the Hylian courtly dress back to his black tactical clothes, flack jacket, and weaponry. The black backpack he had come to that world with was attached firmly to his back. “Wow, thanks. Neat trick.” He said in amazement.

 

The woman smiled, and then gestured again and the portal of time rose from the floor once more and began spinning. The symbols on it lighting up as the familiar vortex whooshed out and back in again, leaving a vertical pool of shimmering energy across the diameter of the ring.

 

“Well, that's it then.” Shepherd said, about to walk into the ring.

 

“Not quite yet, Colonel.” Another familiar female voice called out, as a young woman with long blond hair and sharp pointed ears materialized in front of him shining with an inner light. “We would like for you to carry these with you back to our first home.” In her hands she carried three triangles. Two were of shining gold, and one was obsidian black and cracked. “They will be safer there now than here, and perhaps Dr. McKay will one day be able to restore Din's piece in time.”

 

Shepherd stared, stunned at the relics in her hands. He then remembered from all those years ago, and said, “Wait a second, I thought the Triforce couldn't leave Hyrule or it would fall into darkness or something.” Shepherd said, confused.

 

“The Triforce kept the Demon King's corruption from overtaking Hyrule for thousands of years; keeping it bound to the Sacred Realm. But as you have witnessed, it could not hold back the corruption forever. Now, Hyrule has been reborn, and the stain of Demise's filth is gone. It is best for this land and this people now for the damaged Triforce to leave this land for a time.” Hylia explained solemnly. “You will know when the time is right for its return.”

 

Shepherd stared at the triangles in her hands. “I don't know. That's a lot of power to hand to me, and I don't know if I'm ready for that yet.” He said, uneasy at the prospect of even touching the broken device.

 

“You have demonstrated great wisdom, power, and courage in your trials, Colonel, and have been willing to sacrifice your own future to ensure the future of this world.” Hylia said. “My sisters and I find you worthy, Hero, to be its guardian.”

 

Shepherd considered that, and understood the honor that went with it. He nodded, and, unslinging the backpack, he opened it and carefully took each piece from her hands placing them carefully in the bag. As he touched each piece, they seemed to glow brightly for a brief instant. A tingle of pain ran through the back of his left hand and a familiar triangular symbol formed, with two golden triangles forming the base, and a black one crowning them.

 

He looked at his hand and said, “That's going to take some explaining when I get back.”

 

Hylia smiled. “And now it is time, Hero of Hyrule. The legend of Zelda is finished.” And she vanished in a burst of light.

 

Shepherd closed the bag, and slung it over his shoulders again. He took one last look around, and then stepped through the gate.

 

In the next instant he was stepping into the spacious gate room of Atlantis's main tower. In front of him, Mr. Woolsey was standing, staring at the stargate right where he had been before Shepherd had left with Link.

 

“Colonel, is there something wrong?” Mr. Woolsey asked in confusion.

 

“How long have I been gone?” Shepherd asked.

 

“You and Link just left, Colonel. It hasn't been more than a few seconds.” He explained, trying to wrap his own head around it. “What happened?”

 

Shepherd paused for a moment, trying to find the words, he then said, “It's going to be a long briefing.” He then asked, “your office?”

 

Woolsey nodded then noticed the fresh tattoo on Shepherd's hand. “Indeed it is.” He said as he followed Shepherd up the stairs.

 

* * *

 

Later that night, Shepherd couldn't sleep. His body was still on Hyrule time and it would take a couple of days for him to readjust. He lay awake thinking about all the people back in the other world that he was now inexplicably and inextricably tied to. He didn't know if he would ever see them again, but he didn't want to forget them either.

 

He got up out of bed and went to his dresser drawer and opened it. Inside, under his personal off-duty wardrobe lay the thin case of an unwrapped, unopened Nintendo video game. He took it out of the drawer and took it over to his flat screen television where a video game console had been hooked up. He pressed the button on the face of the console to pull out the _Call of Duty_ game which he had last played with Ronan over a month ago. No, he corrected himself, it had only been a week ago, before Ronan and Teyla went on leave together.

 

He then unwrapped the _Legend of Zelda_ game and put it into the machine, and started a new game. “Okay, old buddy,” he said to the image of Link which came up in the video prologue, “let's go save Hyrule again.”

 

 


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

 

Twenty years after the death of Princess Zelda...

 

The light flared across the broken clouds beginning to glow golden and fade as the sun dropped below the horizon. It had rained earlier that day, and the air still felt moist, cool and clean. In the Nabooru Town square below, the shops began to close up for the day as a town custodian went through the square bringing the electric street lamps to life. In the center of the town square stood a statue of the ancient Gerudo Sage of Spirit for whom the town was named.

 

The prince regent of Eastern Hyrule, Talon, watched the calming scene quietly from the balcony of the fortified governor's citadel. His mind had been occupied mostly with reports from the different towns and villages of the half of Hyrule which his mother had entrusted him to govern, but there was also the recent event which had involved only his mother, brother, himself, and the Sages, Hyrule's “religious leaders.” He bore no ill will towards his brother. John had been his best friend all of his life. But he did wonder “what did the Sages see in him, and not me?”

 

People had compared him to his father all of his life. With the exception of his untamed flaming red hair which was his mother's gift to him, he, like his twin brother, was the spitting image of his father, Link, the celebrated Hero of Hyrule who had died saving their land when Talon and his brother John were only five years old. That had been twenty years ago. It seemed like forever and a world away now.

 

“Your highness,” the nasal voice intoned, “surely there has been some mistake, you are the oldest are you not?”

 

“We are twins, Grima. I am only older by a matter of minutes.” Prince Talon responded. Their mother had positioned them both as prince regents of the two halves of their land. John governed Western Hyrule, while Talon had been charged with the governance of Eastern Hyrule which lay across the Hylian Sea from the mainland.

 

“But certainly your Queen mother wouldn't have elected to choose the younger son, would she?” The older man asked. He had been Prince Talon's chief adviser for only a year now, but he had quickly gained the prince's ear on all things.

 

“It was not her choice, Grima. It was the Sages who named my brother crown prince and heir to the throne.” He responded. The ceremony had taken place in the ancient Temple of Forest, dedicated to the goddess Farore in honor of his father's “mother.” It was the first time in the history of the Royal family such a choice had to be made between two siblings to determine the royal heir. When the choice had been made, his brother became the heir, and he the spare, with no explanation as to their choice. “When the Sages speak, even Hyrule's sovereign must bow to their wishes.” The prince then attempted to return to his private musings on the subject.

 

“Why?” Grima asked, and Talon felt like a bullet had been fired at him. The question seemed so innocent, yet the implications of just asking the question were disturbing.

 

Talon thought for a minute. He had never asked the question. It had always been just a part of his and his brother's life. He then answered, “Because the Sages represent the will of the goddesses to the people. They keep the legends and histories of our people, and guard the entry to the Sacred Realm.”

 

“So then who truly rules Hyrule, your highness? Her majesty, or the Sages?” Grima responded.

 

Talon said nothing in response, but the question stung and bit at him. He just continued to stare down at the statue in the middle of the square. In the western sky, the sun dipped completely below the horizon, and the darkness began to consume the remaining daylight. “The Sages speak for the goddesses. They know their will and interpret it for us.” He said, but even as he said it he found himself unconvinced of the answer. What is happening to me? He asked himself silently.

 

“Forgive me, your highness,” Grima said meekly, “but can a group of mortals really know the will of the gods, or do they merely claim to?”

 

Talon turned from his view of the town square to face his adviser. He was at least forty or fifty years older than the prince, Talon thought. His long silver hair was tied back neatly in a simple ponytail, and he wore a long, well combed silver beard as well. He was not Hylian, but from one of Hyrule's outlying provinces. Ordon, maybe or perhaps he was from one of the other countries which lay across the sea. He then began to realize how little he actually knew of his adviser. “Where are you from, Grima?” Talon asked him.

 

“My homeland is a great distance from Hyrule, your highness. I only traveled here shortly before I entered your service.” Grima answered smoothly, his words seeming to dispel all interest by the prince in his origins.

 

“The history of my country is a long and complicated one, Grima. But throughout that history, the Sages have always watched over Hyrule, and been its guardians against the Demon King alongside the Hero and the Princess.” Talon said.

 

“It is not the great Sages of the past, nor the role of your heroic father or royal aunt, your highness, that I question.” Grima told him. “But in my experience it would be a mistake to assume those who sit in their seats today are the same as those great ones of the past, or that in such times as these they themselves have the best interests of your land in their hearts and not their own. I have known a great many such guardians of religious truth that when it came down to it were more concerned about maintaining their own political power over the people than the true divine will.” He seemed so sincere, so paternal in his concern.

 

The prince turned this over in his mind, and immediately the thought of the choosing in the temple came back to his mind. His brother had been chosen over him by the Sages alone, and no one had questioned it. “So then you believe their anointing of my brother is a political move; that they believe him a more easily influenced puppet to control to maintain their own power over Hyrule and the monarchy?” Talon asked uneasily.

 

“That is more than I said, your highness.” Grima replied, removing his spectacles innocently and cleaning them with the edge of his tunic.

 

“Perhaps.” Talon said, his mind beginning to fill with thoughts he had never considered before. He turned back to the town square, which was now quiet. The blue uniformed night watch guards patrolled the town's streets, the gold royal crest of Hyrule, the winged Triforce, emblazoned on the back of their long coats, rifles held at the ready on their arms.

 

Talon's mother, Queen Malon, was a wise, strong, and courageous ruler. She had guided Hyrule through the darkest moments of its most recent history after the death of her sister, Princess Zelda, and the Queen's husband Link, Hyrule's Supreme Military Commander. Their kingdom had emerged stronger for it. She was the one who gave us the new vision for the future, he thought to himself, and guided us back into the arms of the Sages and the old stories. Is she herself being held by old ideas and old systems which don't apply in this new world she led us into? He wondered. How could I not have seen it before?

 

“What would you have me do, adviser?” Talon asked the older man.

 

“Perhaps it is not my place...” Grima began to say.

 

“And if I say it is?” Talon stopped him. “What should I do?”

 

“You are the prince regent of Eastern Hyrule, your highness. We are all at your command.” Grima told him obsequiously.

 

* * *

 

In another reality worlds away, in the depths of a shining city floating on the sea, hidden from the rest of the world...

 

“So, you're saying you do make more than me?” Rodney asked indignantly. Atlantis base's chief scientist took issue with its head archaeologist's implication, regardless of the fact that he was the one who brought up their pay scales.

 

“No, I just said that our paychecks reflect the size of the contributions we both make to the ongoing stargate research, that's all.” Daniel said in a quick save. The truth was he had no idea how much Rodney got paid, but he hoped it wasn't the seeming pittance he found automatically deposited into his checking account in the small Colorado bank branch each month by the U.S. Government. Granted, on Atlantis he got free housing and food, but still, with everything he'd given and sacrificed for not just the stargate program, but for the planet as a whole, they could have shown just a little more financial love.

 

Somewhat mollified, Rodney brushed that part of their conversation aside and continued his investigation of the lab which had been “rediscovered” deep in the bowels of the city, going over it with a notebook jotting down occasional observations. It had actually been discovered and cataloged way back in the Pegasus galaxy when Atlantis had sat atop Lantea's ocean waters several years ago. But when its function couldn't be determined after a few days, it had been quickly forgotten and ignored for more promising and easily understood labs. But now, the Ancient lab was back on McKay's radar for one very specific yet obscure reason which only a few years before wouldn't and didn't turn his head twice. Etched into one of the side walls was a metallic relief of three triangles joined together, two at the base and one at the top, to form a single larger triangle.

 

Daniel Jackson had agreed to assist him in his research only because he had some downtime right now, and no major projects of his own which he could do anything more with at the moment, and because Woolsey stopped just short of ordering him to. Rodney could be a “difficult” man to work with, and he didn't actually have a huge amount of interest in McKay's “video game research” except that he had personally met two of those characters from the game some three years before at another research dig in an Ancient abandoned city beneath a volcano in the New Mexico desert (that was a research site he wished he was still at, but the Airforce and the I.O.A., the two organizations that actually signed his paychecks, had other ideas). That had been a unique experience, and Link and Zelda had been likable kids all things considered, if you could call them kids.

 

“So what exactly are you hoping to accomplish in here Rodney?” Daniel asked, his eyes scanning the otherwise spartan and unremarkable room. He wanted to add, and why exactly do you need me here? But he didn't. Years before, Rodney had been ordered to assist Daniel in what he thought was a worthless investigation. That turned out instead to yield a previously unknown secret lab and a wealth of new research and data. Daniel had enough class to keep from whining at Rodney's tangents, knowing and respecting the man's brilliance, if not always the man himself.

 

“Okay, so I've been trying to figure out the damaged Triforce Shepherd brought back. The description, logs, and notes on it are in the public database, but when I try and search any deeper,” Rodney explained, “unlike the key blade, I can't find anything on how to actually build one, much less repair the one we've got.”

 

Daniel folded his arms and stared at the triangle symbol on the wall trying to understand its purpose. He knew it represented the Triforce, or at least a Triforce, the mystical triangles from the _Legend of Zelda_ video game series that when combined together would warp the fabric of reality itself to make whatever a mortal wished for happen. Right now, he sincerely wished for something more interesting to do than listen to Rodney complain and stare at the walls.

 

There wasn't much else to distinguish the room except for a very few consoles and Ancient computer monitors which were now powered up and spitting out readouts in the blocky Ancient script. The only truly unique part of the room to distinguish it from the rest of the labs in the city was this symbol etched into the coppery metal.

 

“So what exactly does the Triforce do again that makes it so important?” Daniel asked, continuing to try and understand the meaning of the symbol he had been staring at.

 

“Essentially, it's a belief amplifier.” Rodney explained.

 

“A what?” Daniel asked.

 

Rodney stopped what he was doing and looked at him to try and explain it further, “Remember how the Ori got their power from the faith their followers had in them?

 

“Yeah, I do.” Daniel answered. Only too well, he thought. He had been forced to deal with it far too many times.

 

“Okay, well this device sort of works on the same principle, except it takes the belief or faith of the person touching it and amplifies it to bend the fabric of reality itself around the object of that person's belief. In short, if you wish for something and believe in it, it will make it happen.” He finished. “Each piece of the Triforce centers around a specific virtue, power, wisdom, and courage, which amplifies the belief and therefore the presence of that specific virtue in the person who carries that piece. It's when all three are put together that the really big, reality bending stuff happens. The Ancients created it as a defensive device against rogue ascended beings. Kind of like arming us lesser beings with the potential power of an ascended being as a 'mutual deterrent' kind of thing.”

 

“Yeah, we could have used something like that a few years ago.” Daniel quipped.

 

“Tell me about it.” Rodney agreed. “Anyhow, if we can repair the Triforce of Power, or better yet, create our own since this one's more or less on loan; then the kinds of things we could do with this city and our research would be practically limitless.”

 

Rodney then came over to stand next to Daniel. “Near as I can tell that's just a wall decoration.” He said, gesturing to the symbol in front of them. “There's no writing, and nothing else to mark it as anything else.”

 

“Yeah, probably. I've just found too many walls with decorations that wound up being clues to something bigger.” Daniel then reached out his hand to feel the surface of the etching.

 

Rodney reached out his hand too to trace the lines of the triangle. “Yeah, I wish it led to something like a...” He had begun to say flippantly, though deep down he had sincerely wished it led to the research he was looking for. At the same time, he also wondered how Link's kids and wife were getting along and wished he could see them the same way Colonel Shepherd, Atlantis' military commander had the year before.

 

The triangles of the symbol glowed with a golden light which became more intense and flashed around them. Then a bright wave of energy consumed the both of them, and the Atlantis lab was empty.

 

“Danny? What the hell just happened?!” McKay shouted. It was pitch darkness around them, and they were both disoriented and nauseous. “Did the power go out?” He then called into his bluetooth communicator, “McKay to operations, what's going on?” There was no response.

 

“You try!” Rodney told him. Daniel, feeling like he was going to see his last meal in reruns, slowly spoke into his own communicator, “Daniel Jackson to Atlantic base operations, come in please.” He also received nothing in reply.

 

“Why aren't they answering?!” Rodney shouted.

 

Daniel hated it when McKay called him “Danny,” so it didn't help his mood much. “I don't know!” He shouted back. “Why do you think I would know?!”

 

Just then a soft blue light began to illuminate the room they were in, and it wasn't the room they had been standing in before. Around them could be seen stone walls, sculpted columns, and a few Ancient computer consoles that were covered in a thick coating of dust.

 

“I think I know why they're not answering now.” Daniel revised his last statement.

 

“Oh, that's not good,” McKay said. “Okay, just let me get my bearings, get a look around and think.” He said scanning the room around him. “Oh boy, we're in trouble.” He announced shortly.

 

“Why? What do you mean?” Daniel said, then he also began to look around. “Oh my.” He said.

 

“I don't think we're in Kansas anymore, Danny.” McKay told him, pointing at a sculpture in the corner of the room. It was of three women holding three triangles in such a way to where they formed a single triangle. Each woman had been carved with a sash that held a name in a script not that much different from Ancient. They were names McKay knew all too well and in their own language, “Din, Nayru, and Farore.” He read them out loud.

 

“You know where we are?” Daniel asked him. “Don't you?”

 

“Oh god, I hope I'm wrong.” Rodney answered. “Because I have no idea how to get us back this time.”

 

That wasn't good news. As far as Daniel knew, much to everyone else's consternation, Rodney was rarely wrong.

 

“How do you think we got here?” Rodney asked, holding his head.

 

“Isn't that usually your area of expertise, Rodney?” Daniel answered, trying to move slowly to keep himself from throwing up.

 

Rodney threw him a dirty look and said, “Just humor me.”

 

“We touched the symbol on the wall together, you said 'I wish..,' the triangles glowed gold and then the whole world around us changed.” Daniel said.

 

Rodney tried to process those facts through his headache. Then a light went on in his head. “Wait a second. Are you telling me Atlantis has had a working Triforce this entire time?” Rodney asked in disbelief. “And we didn't know about it?”

 

“Well, it's not like anyone ever looked for one before now.” Daniel pointed out, holding his own head, and blinking several times trying to get the spots out of his vision.

 

“Yeah, but still!” Rodney said in exasperation at all the lost opportunities.

 

“Focus, McKay! We've got more pressing problems right now!” Daniel told him, losing his patience.

 

“Right. You're right.” Rodney said, looking around the room trying to take in all the data it was giving him.

 

“So where are we then, Rodney? You act like you know this place.” Daniel said, trying to take in his surroundings in the dim lighting as his eyes adjusted.

 

“Well, I would think the statue would pretty well give it away, don't you?” Rodney asked, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

 

“Okay, let's pretend I have no idea what you're talking about.” Daniel told him.

 

“You really don't know?” Rodney asked, beginning to comprehend. “Wow. Well, we've got to be in Hyrule. That's the only place I know of that would feature a statue with the three goddesses and the Triforce inside a creepy stone room.”

 

Daniel took a look around. “Hyrule? You mean like Link and Zelda's Hyrule? The video game Hyrule?”

 

“Yes, the video game Hyrule! Try and keep up will you, Jackson?” Rodney snorted.

 

“Don't get mad at me if I've had more important things to do with my time than play video games!” Daniel shouted back at him.

 

“And I haven't?!” Rodney shouted back, looking like he was about to have an aneurysm. “I just had the great luck of having to be stranded here against my will for six years of my life!”

 

“Okay, okay,” Daniel conceded. “I'm sorry. I just never got around to reading the mission reports you and Colonel Shepherd filed when you got back.” That was true enough. His own workload was so full, he never had the time even when he had the inclination.

 

Rodney began to calm down and think. He looked around the room again, trying to get a better sense of it. He then began to snap his fingers and said, “I think I've been here before, actually, in this building.”

 

“You have?” Daniel asked with surprise.

 

“Yeah, not this room specifically mind you, but this place with Link years ago, or maybe we're here now because of the whole time travel thing. Anyways, we were looking for a linking book back to Earth. I'll bet a week's pay this is the ruins of what they called the Great Palace in Eastern Hyrule.” Rodney pronounced. “It was a huge abandoned fortress when we visited it. I think Link once told me it used to be the royal palace in the most ancient of times or something like that.”

 

“Okay. That's a start. So, how can you tell,” Daniel asked.

 

“I can't say for certain, but the design of the chamber kind of looks like it. Each palace tended to have its own architectural style because they were all built in different time periods of Hyrule's history. I guess their taste in interior decorators changed over the millennia. This really reminds me though of the Great Palace.”

 

“Well, that's good then. At least we now have some idea where we are.” Daniel said hopefully, “And how to find our way out, right?”

 

“No, that's bad, I just remembered” Rodney said. “The Great Palace is a maze with no logical order. Rooms don't fit together where they're supposed to. It's almost like there's an extra dimensionality to the place. It took Link and I forever to comb through the place and that was with his 'other memories' as a guide. I have no idea where in the palace we could be.”

 

“Well, then we take a good look around and try to figure it out.” Daniel said. “There aren't any windows, so we're most likely in an interior room, or underground. What else can the room itself tell us? Let's start with the carving. You recognized the three women, right? You said they were three Hylian goddesses, right?” Daniel asked. “You said three names. Uh, what were they, Din..?”

 

Rodney picked it up for him, “Din, Nayru, and Farore. They're supposed to be the three ancient goddesses that first created Hyrule and then left. It's a pretty common depiction in Hylian art, except...” Rodney said looking at the sculpture more critically.

 

“Except what?” Daniel asked.

 

“Except they're not usually depicted so lifelike, like real people.” Rodney said. “They're usually more streamlined, or more abstract forms.”

 

“Okay, so maybe that's significant.” Daniel said, trying to reason it out. “Roman art and Greek art are pretty similar to one another except that Greek art is more idealized, whereas when the Romans started making statues like the Greeks they carved them realistically showing all the flaws of the subject.” He walked over to the statue to inspect it more closely. “Rodney, correct me if I'm wrong, I know it's been a while, but didn't Link and Zelda have pointed ears, and high cheekbones?”

 

“Yeah, they're a real pretty, elvish kind of people, why?” He asked as he also got a better look at the statues. “Wait a minute, these don't look like Hylians at all. Look at the ears, they're rounded like ours, or like the...”

 

“Ancients.” They both said together. Daniel then added, “You said they were Hylian goddesses. Why would a Hylian carve their goddesses to look like a human or an ancient, especially if they'd never seen a human?”

 

“There are some folks with rounded ears like ours in Hyrule. Out in Ordon province where Link grew up, they look pretty human there.” Rodney pointed out, trying to remember. “But that still wouldn't make any sense to make them look so realistically human. Unless...” Rodney's mind started shifting into high gear.

 

“Unless what?” Daniel asked.

 

“Unless they were carving images of real people.” Rodney said. “That would make this room one of the oldest in Hyrule.”

 

Daniel looked around the chamber again. “Rodney, go stand next to one of those computer consoles for me.” He asked him.

 

“What, why?” Rodney asked.

 

“Just humor me.” Daniel said.

 

“Okay, fine.” He said as he walked the few feet to stand next to the console.

 

“There, happy?” He asked, gesturing with his hands on his hips. Then the console next to him came to life, and a holographic projection of a computer monitor appeared in the space above the console.

 

“Oh, wow.” Rodney said. “It's responding to my A.T.A. gene. This isn't just an ancient room. It's an Ancient lab.” Rodney said.

 

“Yeah, I was kind of leaning that way myself.” Daniel said, trying to keep from smirking.

 

Ignoring him, Rodney went to work at the console trying to understand what the monitor was telling him. “Hey, would you give me a hand? My Ancient's not as good as it should be.” He told Daniel, who came closer to the monitor and began to read the lines of text in front of him. After a few minutes, he pronounced, “well, I think you got what you wished for, Rodney.”

 

“What I wished for? What do you mean? When did I wish to be transported into another reality with you next to me?” Rodney protested.

 

“You wished to find the Triforce lab. Right before we ended up here.” Daniel said.

 

“I did? Yeah but... but I didn't... I mean... Oh no.” Rodney said with comprehension dawning.

 

“Yep. This is Din, Nayru, and Farore's Triforce lab.” Daniel told him.

 

* * *

 

It's an honor I don't want, John thought to himself, as he lay on the green lawn and watched the stars that night in the courtyard of Hyrule Castle, his childhood home. They were bright through the fast disappearing clouds, and the constellations danced and fought their ways across the heavens for him. He could see his father in those stars fighting the Demon King from ages gone by. “I wish you were here, father.” He whispered.

 

It had been only a few days since the ceremony in Farore's temple. Would it be wrong to consider her his grandmother? He wondered. His father was known as the “son of Farore,” so why not? “Why me, grandmother? Why'd you have to tell them to choose me? Talon's the responsible one. And he the oldest.” He asked out loud. He received no answer back. He didn't really expect one. She was a goddess after all.

 

“Your highness?” A familiar deep masculine voice called out. John tried to ignore it.

 

“Your highness?” The owner of the voice, Hyrule's Supreme Military Commander, came closer.

 

Fine. John thought. “Yes, Oliver, I'm right here.”

 

“Of course, your highness.” The mustachioed older man came to stand next to where his crown prince lay on the grass looking up. Oliver's eyes followed his prince's upwards. “I wouldn't have thought earlier today that we'd be able to see anything tonight. I'm glad I was wrong.” He said.

 

“Care to join me?” John asked him.

 

“I'm afraid not your highness, I just had these trousers cleaned, and I need to stop in and see your mother, her majesty, before I turn in myself. I only wanted to see where you had gotten to.” Oliver's voice then filled with a more paternal concern, “You haven't seemed quite yourself since you returned from the Kokiri forest. Is everything alright?”

 

John sat up slowly on his elbows. Oliver had been a good man and a good friend for most of his life, in many ways he had been a surrogate father to him. “Why me, Oliver?” He asked him. “Why did they choose me? I don't want to rule. I'm supposed to be governor over all of western Hyrule and I didn't really want that. My brother's better suited for it. He's the one the people really look up to. I would gladly give him the crown.”

 

“I don't pretend to understand the mind of the goddesses, your highness, or those who speak for them. But the Sages must have chosen you over your brother for a good reason.” Oliver then crouched down next to the younger, flame haired man who looked so much like the Hero of decades before. “It was a great shock and surprise to me when Colonel Shepherd, a man who had been a hero of mine, recommended me to fill your father's considerably large shoes. For a long time I couldn't understand why when there were braver and better men than me. There are times I still question his wisdom.”

 

“Oliver, you've been one of the bravest, most dedicated soldiers Hyrule has ever known. My mother has often told me how much she has relied on your courage and strength in guiding our land, and how she didn't know how she would manage if you weren't by her side.” John told him.

 

“Yet I have never felt brave, your highness, or strong. I am only a soldier, and I only do what I know the best way I can. The goddesses don't choose those who believe themselves the strongest or the bravest or the wisest. They know better than that. They choose those who are willing, humbly, to serve with all that they have and not give up. Your grandmother, the goddess Farore, or perhaps the Lady Hylia herself must have seen something of your father in you for the Sages to have made that choice.” Oliver explained.

 

“My grandmother...” John repeated, feeling strange at thinking of one of the goddesses of Hyrule's creation in that way.. “Sometimes I wish she would tell me what she wants from me plainly, and not be so mysterious.”

 

“We all wish that, your highness. But then maybe if she did, there would be nothing left for us to learn on our own.” Oliver said, then stood up to leave. “Have a good night, your highness. Don't stay up too late. You wouldn't want to miss breakfast again tomorrow. The kitchens are preparing pumpkin pastries.”

 

John chuckled. “And you as well, Oliver.” Prince John responded in kind. As Oliver turned to leave, he added sincerely, “And thank you.”

 

The older man gave a more relaxed salute to his prince, and left him to his stargazing to find his queen indoors. The electric lights of the halls seemed very bright to his eyes and he rubbed them vigorously from the sharp pain after his eyes, having adjusted to the dark outside, protested.

 

There were two, gray uniformed castle guardsmen posted at the entry to the wing of the castle wherein lie the royal apartments. He stopped to ask them of the queen's whereabouts.

 

“Her majesty has been in her private chapel, sir.” One of the guardsmen replied. “She was going there only half an hour ago.”

 

Oliver thanked the man and strode towards the chapel at the far end of the castle wing where the royal residence lay. His own apartments lay in a different part of the palace, but near enough to where he could be present in a hurry when called upon. He paused as he passed the sealed private chambers of the last Supreme Commander, the Hero of Hyrule. He gave a small, personal salute with nodded head. It was his own particular practice of respect, acknowledging that he could never replace the great man who had fallen. He had taken up the role of protecting, and even nurturing where he could, the Hero's family in his absence. It was, in his mind, an unspoken promise he had made to the Hero to take care of them, all of them, not just as a matter of his profession, but also personally.

 

His silent devotion finished, he continued down the stone hall adorned with portraits of the Heroes and Royal monarchs of Hyrule's long history towards the small chapel dedicated to all the gods and not any one god or goddess of Hyrule in particular as the great temples were.

 

The chapel was a relatively recent addition to the castle, commissioned by the queen herself not long after she ascended the throne. It was adorned with devout icons and images denoting each of Hyrule's deities including the Lady Hylia, and a small alcove where a portrait of the Hero sat. No electric lights had been installed in it. Feeling that they detracted from the sanctity of the place, the queen insisted that candles be kept lit in honor of the divine presences. Up high and around the walls of the chapel were stained glass images of the stories of Hyrule's creation, the incarnations of the Hero and the Princess Zelda, and of course the Sacred Triforce was etched, carved, or painted everywhere one looked.

 

As Oliver quietly entered the sacred space, he spied the long, soft ginger braid of his queen kneeling at the front altar in prayer. Not wishing to disturb her, he piously took a seat in one of the small wooden pews and inclined his own head to prayerfully gather his thoughts. In the quiet of the chapel he could not help but overhear her words.

 

“I wish you were here.” She said. “It has been so long, and I still miss you terribly. I don't know how to counsel our boys now. They both appeared to accept the Sage's decision gracefully, but I know John. He doesn't want it. Talon said nothing, but he seemed so distant after the Forest Temple. He said everything was fine, and he was content with his position. Maybe it is just a mother's intuition, but something doesn't seem right. Please, my love, give me some counsel on how to speak to them both. Could the Sages have made a mistake? Have you ever known them to make mistakes?”

 

She continued for several more minutes before rising and turning towards to entry door, the soft glow of the candlelight reflecting off of her face, giving her an otherworldly divine glow. Except for the few silver streaks which now ran through her hair, he could not tell that she had aged a day since her coronation twenty years ago. Great goddesses, she is a beautiful woman, Oliver couldn't stop himself from thinking. Of course it was a sentiment he would never voice openly to anyone, not the way his mind and heart meant it.

 

“Oh, Oliver! I'm sorry, I didn't know you were there, forgive me, I was just... I was just...” She searched for the words to describe what she had been doing.

 

Oliver spared her from having to go any farther. “No need, your majesty. I didn't want to interrupt your evening devotions.” He said as he rose from his seat to stand in front of her. It hadn't been the first time he had found her like this, though her eyes always lit up in embarrassed surprise when she finally realized he was present. He wondered if it had become something of an unspoken game between them. “I just wanted to check and see if you required anything before I turned in for the night myself.”

 

“You're always so kind to me, Oliver.” She genuinely smiled, almost girlishly, and it was his joy to see that smile that he had never seen her show anyone else for as long as he had held his position. She fidgeted with her hands as she spoke to him. “Have you seen John tonight?”

 

“His highness was in the courtyard watching the stars,” Oliver told her. “He was still in a mood about the Sages' choice. I wasn't entirely sure what to say, so I told him the truth, that the goddesses must have seen something of his father in him to make the choice they did.” His tone of voice changed, and became more gentle and familiar than he would have ever used had they not been alone. “He will be fine, my queen. He's grown into a good man, as has Talon. You've done well in raising them both.”

 

“We've done well, Oliver.” Malon replied. “I couldn't have raised them without you there to guide them. Thank you for that. Thank you for always being there for us. I don't know what I would have done if... if...” She stopped herself, realizing that she stood only inches from him now. She was then surprised to find her hand had gone to his arm in an affectionate touch, and she quickly pulled it away and down, looking confused and furiously fidgeting with her fingers again.

 

“Of course, your majesty.” Oliver said, knowing it would never, and could never go farther than this. That was the pact and the promise he had made. “I will always be here for you... and for the boys.” He whispered loud enough for her to hear, and no one else that might be passing by.

 

“Good night, Oliver.” She replied back to him, a small smile still on her lips, but fear and confusion in her eyes. “Sleep well.”

 

“And you, your majesty.” He gave a slight bow, taking her hand in a chivalrous manner, gently and chastely kissing her fingers as he did with every other “good night.” And then he left the chapel for his own apartments

 

No one would have considered it an inappropriate gesture. Many of her ministers and avowed lords and knights did the same thing on a daily basis. But as he walked away, her heart felt betrayed and vulnerable. It was uncomfortable, and there were times she wished he wouldn't be so chivalrous. But not once had she ever stopped the brief brush of his brown and silver mustache against her fingers. She didn't know why, and she wouldn't allow herself to examine her own feelings in order to learn.

 

* * *

 

After about an hour of perusing the files, Rodney pronounced, “Dammit.”

 

“What's wrong?” Daniel asked, after translating a few things for Rodney he seemed to be able to pick up the rest on his own so he took some time investigating the rest of the room. It was relatively small for a lab. It was only about thirty feet by thirty feet by Daniel's estimate. It did house a couple of Ancient computer consoles, as well as a set of devices that looked painfully similar to the ones he himself had used under the Ancient Merlin's guidance to build the sangraal device used to destroy ascended beings. Not that he could use them now for anything. This equipment, he knew, could only be used by someone who was pre-ascendent.

 

“All the data's here. Everything we need to build a Triforce is right here in this room. We could build one right now and wish ourselves home if we wanted.” Rodney said.

 

“But?” Daniel asked.

 

“But,” Rodney continued, “it requires either a real Ancient or an ascended being to do it. As marvelously evolved as my particular brain is...,” he paused, not seeming to want to finish the sentence.

 

Daniel finished it for him tactfully. “It requires a being who is capable of ascending to operate.”

 

“Yes, thank you. Or someone who's already done it.” Rodney added, trying to wrap his head around it. “I mean, if I could just take the data with me and upload it into the device we've got back in Atlantis I could write a program to do it for us like I did with the sangraal jewel, but I've got nothing to take any of it with us except my notebook and pencil, and even I can't memorize every single precise placement of every molecule of this thing. I mean this takes complexity to a whole new level.”

 

“So, no getting out of here by wishing our way back.” Daniel concluded.

 

“What? Oh yeah, uh... no. But,” he continued hopefully, “there is a map of the building in the database that should be easy enough to follow as long as we follow it exactly, and don't make too many assumptions about three dimensional space.”

 

“Oh good.” Daniel said. He had stopped wondering how he found himself in these kinds of situations a long time before this. “Any ideas of where to go for help once we get to the outside?”

 

“Well, the only other place I know of that can get us home is the Temple of Time in western Hyrule. We'll just have to hope Impa, or whoever the Sage of Time is now is in a good mood.” Rodney said.

 

“Well, I'm encouraged.” Daniel retorted.


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

 

Talon sat on the marble seat of Nabooru's Citadel throne room under the carved relief of the Triforce and Hyrule's goddesses. It was not a comfortable seat, and it was a rare day when anyone would have found him sitting in it for any length of time. Today however, it served as his seat of judgment for the two figures standing before him.

 

The hands and feet of a seemingly young, yellow haired, green and brown clad Hylian boy, and a lithe, brown skinned woman of flowing red hair and bright green eyes in white robes had been bound in chains and brought to Nabooru on his orders. Both had peacefully tranquil expressions on their faces which unnerved the prince regent and those in his court who witnessed the proceedings. Standing to either side of the pair and behind them were blue uniformed guardsmen.

 

Talon said nothing to them for a long time, but just continued to stare at them long and hard. He had rarely ever seen the two Sages, though his last encounter with them had only been a short time before at the ceremony in the Temple of Forest where his younger brother had been chosen over him. The Sages of Earth and Wind were known as the most reclusive of any of Hyrule's temple guardians, remaining in their temples and playing their sacred instruments in worship and prayer to their gods.

 

“May I ask the reason for your request of our presence, your highness?” The younger looking one, the Sage of Earth, asked with only the faintest hint of sarcasm in his voice.

 

Talon had been about to answer the Sage when Grima intervened, saying “Do not do him the dignity of an answer, your highness.” Grima, who stood to the right of Talon's throne, told the prince. “You are the one asking the questions.”

 

“Indeed,” Talon answered his adviser. “This is my court, Kelvin. I will speak when I am ready to speak.” He turned his attention to the boy whom he knew was older than himself in front of him.

 

“No one questions whose court this is, your highness,” the woman said, “only for what reason you have so politely asked us to join you.” Her sarcasm was not so well concealed.

 

“You will be silent until the prince regent has given you permission to speak!” Grima told her forcefully.

 

After several more tense minutes, Talon finally addressed them both sternly, “Kelvin, Sage of Earth, and Narissa, Sage of Wind, I hereby charge you with treason against the royal family of Hyrule, and therefore treason against the Kingdom of Hyrule itself. You have attempted to influence the royal succession for the sake of maintaining control of the Sages over Hyrule's sovereign ruler. I will not allow the sovereign authority of the monarchy to be usurped by a group of recluses who are rarely seen.”

 

The Sages seemed to quietly ponder this declaration, and made no answer. The faces of the guardsmen surrounding them became like stone as they heard the charges leveled against their prisoners.

 

“Do you have nothing to answer these charges?” Talon asked.

 

Narissa then spoke up, and politely addressed the prince, saying, “If it is usurpers you are searching for, your highness, you need not look so far as the sacred temples when such people can be found even in royal courts.”

 

Kelvin then spoke up and said, “We would only warn you of those who would truly be a danger to Hyrule, your highness. And now that we have, it is time for us to return to our temples.”

 

And with that, the two Sages disappeared in a burst of light, the chains that bound them falling empty to the marble chamber floor..

 

“Guards! Search the Citadel! Find the traitors!” Talon called out in anger and frustration, balling and unballing his hands.

 

“Was it my imagination, or did they accuse you of treason, your highness?” Grima asked his prince.

 

Talon said nothing, but sat pensively in silence, hands folded under his chin.

 

“If the two Sages of Eastern Hyrule are capable of such manipulation, is not the whole of Western Hyrule in danger from their influence, my lord?” Grima pushed him. “Is it not your duty as the Hero's son, and the rightful heir to the throne to protect Hyrule from such poisonous treason?” He then added, “What would your father, the Hero of legend do, your highness?”

 

After another long and painful silence, he answered, “He would save Hyrule.”

 

“Can you do any less, my lord?” Grima asked.

 

“Captain!” Talon shouted out. Within seconds, a blue uniformed man with gold insignia of high rank stood before him, “Yes, your highness.” He answered his prince.

 

Talon didn't hesitate. “I want artillery pieces moved to within range of the Earth and Wind Temples. Load them with explosive shells. Raze the Sages' temples to the ground.”

 

“Of... Of...” The Captain couldn't believe what he had just heard, but his discipline as an officer wouldn't allow him to question it.

 

“Do you have a problem with my order, Captain?” Talon asked menacingly.

 

The Captain summoned his courage, straightened himself up, and said, “No, your highness. It will be carried out to the letter.”

 

“Dismissed.” Talon told him, and the Guard captain moved quickly to carry it out.

 

At Talon's side, Grima nodded approvingly.

 

* * *

 

The mood in the Nabooru soldiers' barracks was grim. Every guardsmen knew within hours what their brothers in arms had been ordered to do, and what had transpired within the citadel throne room. There were some who carried small, golden replicas of the legendary Triforce on chains around their necks as a religious devotion and remembrance of the three goddesses who created their beautiful world. Many clung to those gilded pendants in silent prayer for guidance.

 

No one in the royal family had ever given arrest orders for a Hylian Sage in Hyrule's ten thousand year history. Ever. It was unthinkable. It was an atrocious deed worthy of the hated Ganondorf of Hyrule's dark past. It went against everything the men knew and believed about their world and their relationship to the divine. The orders to destroy the temples... That was something not even the Demon King himself had done.

 

“It isn't right, what he's done, Captain!” One guardsman complained too loudly to his commanding officer. “He'll bring down the wrath of the goddesses upon us all!”

 

“He's the son of the Hero, and nephew to the Princess Zelda herself.” His captain responded, “If anyone would speak for the divine, wouldn't it be him?”

 

“I'm just saying, captain. It's wrong, and I'm not the only one who thinks so.” The guardsman said, looking around to his brothers in arms for support. A few nodded and murmured encouragingly.

 

“Now listen,” The captain told him sternly, and then he turned to include all of his men, “and this goes for all of you. Prince Talon is regent of Eastern Hyrule until his Queen Mother says otherwise. That means he speaks with her authority! If he gives an order, it means she has given an order! And if she gives an order, it means the Lady Hylia herself has given that order! Is that understood?!” He yelled at them.

 

“Yes, sir!” They all shouted back, uneasily.

 

“Good! I don't want to hear any more about this. Is that understood?” He yelled.

 

“YES, SIR!” They responded in unison, many of them holding their golden pendants tightly.

 

As the captain turned to leave, he then whispered quietly under his breath, “And may the goddesses forgive us all.” His hand drifted to the triangle shape under his own uniform tunic.

 

* * *

 

The journey out of and from the Great Palace was not nearly as difficult as Rodney imagined it would be. The room they had found themselves in had been an interior room, but not deep below in the labyrinthine maze. “How did Link and I not come across it before?” He had asked aloud at least twice.

 

Closer to the main hall, the two stumbled upon a small, forgotten chest of rupees, the standard currency of Hyrule. “These will definitely come in handy.” Rodney had said upon their discovery as he counted the jewels of various colors. All in all he had counted about a couple of hundred rupees worth of jewels.

 

The big surprise to them had come when they had finally made their way down the mountain path, and found a small village and train station, the tracks of which stretched off in either direction. “That certainly wasn't here the last time!” Rodney had exclaimed. “Jeez, that would have been nice when Link and I had come this way.”

 

“Okay, so we know we're here some time after that then.” Daniel said. “I mean, this is obviously a pretty small, out of the way village, and it takes some time and investment to build a train system so they would have started closer to the capitol, right?” He reasoned out.

 

“And the capitol's on the other side of Hyrule, so this would have been one of the later stations and stretches of track.” Rodney continued the train of thought.

 

They had gone into the village and bought passage on the evening train through the mountain passes to Nabooru Town, the provincial capitol in the central valley of Eastern Hyrule. Along the way, from the windows of their car, they observed the smaller towns and villages lit up by electric lights as the train made its stops.

 

“I don't see any obvious power lines, I wonder how they're generating their power?” Daniel had observed.

 

“They didn't have any of this. I mean, I knew I left my journals, and had gone over a few designs with my assistants, but to do all of this? It has to have been decades at least.” Rodney exclaimed.

 

When the train finally pulled into Nabooru Town later that night, they found the nearest hotel they could find and rented a room with two beds. “Well, I've been in much worse accommodations.” Daniel commented. “And the hotel's got a place to eat downstairs too. At least we won't starve.”

 

“Yeah, I hope you like pumpkins and milk.” Rodney responded. “At least they're not big on citrus.”

 

“I'll keep that in mind.” Daniel returned. “So, what's our next move?”

 

“The Temple of Time's in the Faron Woods in Western Hyrule south of Castle Town.” Rodney replied. “We're going to have to find a way west and across the Hylian Sea, but things look like they've changed so much, I have no idea what we're up against anymore.”

 

The next morning, the two wandered through the busy market square of Nabooru Town. It was filled with vendors hawking their wares in stalls and storefronts. There were townspeople of all kinds from very normal looking humans, to the elvish Hylians, to huge brown rock like “people” looking through the vendor's wares for deals. Around the cobblestones of the square ran carriages and horses.

 

The two wore traveler's cloaks and simple Hylian tunics and breaches they were able to acquire cheaply earlier in the morning from a tailor. The cowls of the cloaks were pulled over their heads. While there may have been non-Hylian humans in Nabooru, they saw no reason to draw any more attention to themselves then they had to.

 

“Wow, things have gotten really built up since the last time I was here.” Rodney said, looking around at the large number of brick buildings. “Electric street lamps, a train system, it seems almost like Victorian London.” He gestured towards the blue uniformed Hylian guardsmen on patrol, rifles at their shoulders. “Are those revolvers they're carrying on their waists?”

 

“Pistols as well as swords.” Daniel observed. They passed by a bright red royal postal box with a pink rabbit's head emblem as they walked. “Yeah, I was expecting something a little more medieval from how you described it.” Daniel said. “But it's been what? Thirty years for them since you were last here?” They had pretended to be from some country across the sea called Holodrum that Rodney knew of. The innkeeper, not seeing that as unusual the night before, after a little careful prodding and Rodney's translating, had filled them in as to when in Hyrule's history they were. “If our own history tells us anything, a lot of progress can happen in thirty years. Especially when you give them technology they didn't have before.”

 

“Yeah, I guess so. But I wouldn't have imagined all of this before. I mean, these people were smack in the dark ages when we first got here.” Rodney said. “They had to have built factories, and took my notes and ran with them.”

 

“Well, I guess you made a difference then.” Daniel said, not sure if that was such a good thing.

 

“Wow. Yeah, I guess I did.” Rodney said, memories of his “improvement” of the people of “Geldar” years before passing through his mind. “That didn't turn out so bad.” He thought out loud to himself. “We just had to stop them from killing each other.” Then thinking better of it, “Okay, never mind.”

 

“Did you say something?” Daniel asked him, looking at a newspaper printed in Hylian. On the front page was the photograph of a strange looking pair, a young Hylian boy and a dark skinned, silver haired woman bound in chains between two intimidating looking soldiers.

 

“No, nothing.” Rodney denied. “What do you have there?”

 

“Well, I'm not sure as I can't read the language. It's too different from Ancient.” Daniel said. “But it looks like a newspaper.”

 

“A newspaper? Seriously? They've got the printing press now? Let me see that.” Rodney took the paper from Daniel's hands. “Oh wow, that's not good. That's not good at all.”

 

“You can read it?” Daniel asked.

 

“Six years here, remember? You think I didn't bother to learn to read the language?” Rodney retorted. “Of course I can read it. But no, that's all wrong. It says that two Sages escaped from the royal guard's custody yesterday when they were being tried by Prince Talon.” Rodney looked at Daniel, “It says they were being tried for treason against the crown.”

 

“Who are the Sages?” Daniel asked.

 

“They're like Hyrule's religious leaders. They run and guard the temples and sacred stuff, but they've always been loyal to the royal family. This doesn't make any sense.” Rodney said.

 

“Well, times change and so do people,” Daniel responded. “Even religious leaders can go bad.” How well he knew that.

 

“In our world, maybe,” Rodney said, “but the Sages are different.” he then continued to read through the front page article. When he finished, he read it again and said, “Oh no. That's definitely not good.”

 

“What's definitely not good?” Daniel asked.

 

“Talon's given orders to destroy the Sages' temples; both of the Sages' temples in Eastern Hyrule.” Rodney said, distressed.

 

“Rodney, is the Temple of Time in Eastern Hyrule?” Daniel asked.

 

“No, but how could that happen?” Rodney asked. “We need to find out more.”

 

The two passed by a vendor's booth filled with trinkets. Daniel stopped to look. The most prominent things for sale were different sized gold pendants shaped like the Triforce. “Huh, that's different.” Rodney commented, and went over to investigate the offerings. “I've never seen Hylians wear replicas of the Triforce openly before.”

 

“It's a devotion our dear queen began at the start of her reign, young man.” An aged voice spoke out. “They serve as a reminder of where we all come from, and what we aspire to be.”

 

Behind the booth sat three older women whom Daniel could see had been handsome in their day. Traces of their beauty remained in their easily worn smiles and bright eyes. Their heads were covered with different colored scarves. The one immediately in front of him wore a bright blue one with an ocean wave pattern. One of the other women had a green one with a forest leaf pattern. The third woman's scarf was colored red in a flame pattern. Daniel smiled in greeting, knowing he couldn't understand their speech but trying to be friendly anyway. The woman in blue motioned him over away from Rodney's hearing, behind the vendor's stall. Looking around to see who might be watching, he then followed where she led.

 

“I sense great balance within you, my son.” The old woman addressed Daniel as Rodney was busy checking out the trinkets on display at their stall and others. He didn't seem to notice the old lady at all. She and the two other silver haired and wrinkled women turned their attention to him as if almost a single person.

 

Daniel turned to her, smiled and looked in her eyes beginning to say, “Thank...” And then was stopped by the old woman's gasp as she stared _into_ him. He felt like she was probing his very soul through his eyes. He then realized something else, she spoke to him in English. “How...?” He began to ask.

 

“You have walked among the gods, Daniel Jackson.” She announced to him in a quiet voice so as not to attract unwanted attention.

 

“How do you know that?” Daniel asked her slightly alarmed, but not choosing to argue or deny it. He dropped his original question. He sensed something different about her as well, though not threatening.

 

“I can see many things, young man. I have walked this world for many, many long ages.” She said cryptically. “You and your companion have a great, and difficult journey ahead of you. Before it is done, the fate of our world may depend on the balance you have brought. I sense great untapped faith within you..”

 

“How?” Daniel asked.

 

The old woman brought out one of her pendants which had been attached to a gold chain from somewhere behind her, although Daniel couldn't see any more of them when she moved. “Please take this to protect you and your companion. You will find it may prove more valuable than you realize. Only use it when the time is right. The fate and future of all of Hyrule depends on it.”

 

She held the chain up with both hands and gestured for him to incline his head. He did so and she slipped it over his neck, carefully hiding the pendant beneath Daniel's shirt where it couldn't be seen. She then pressed the pendant against his chest with the palm of her hand and he felt a soothing warmth radiate out from it. “Yes, I sense much faith, much goodness within you, my son. You will not fail us.”

 

“Who are you, really?” Daniel asked.

 

“You know who I am, Daniel Jackson.” The old woman replied. And as Daniel looked more intently at her, he did recognize her, or at least a younger version of her etched in stone in the palace they had arrived in. “Nay...” He began to say, and she stopped him with a raised palm. “No need, child. I know my own name, and so do you.”

 

“I thought you didn't believe in interfering with the affairs of mortals.” Daniel said, sceptically.

 

“We are not interfering, my son. The choice is yours to make, just as it is for all of our children. I have only given you the wisdom and the power to act on that choice. It is up to you to find the courage within yourself to make the right one. But I know it is within you.” She said. “I have seen it.”

 

“But I'm not one of your children, am I?” Daniel pointed out. “Why me?”

 

“No, you're not.” She said wistfully. “You are more of a long lost brother, cast out because of your great compassion and empathy for people. It may surprise you that this is a trait we share in common, and for that reason we trust you above those who would not understand the power we have entrusted to you.”

 

He considered this, and the responsibility she had charged him with. He then asked, “How will I know when the time is right?” He wasn't sure if he wanted to believe what he now knew was happening.

 

“You will know when the time is right, Daniel Jackson.” The old woman said. “You must, or the sacrifices which have been made will have been for nothing.”

 

“I understand.” He told her. And in some strange way which he didn't fully comprehend, he did.

 

The old woman then looked at him again intently, placed her palm against his forehead and spoke several words in a language which sounded very familiar to him, but which he hadn't expected to hear offhand here. She then told him, “You may now speak openly with our people, but take care. Not everyone in our world will be pleased to see the two of you.”

 

“We will.” He said.

 

She then added in a whisper, “When the time comes once more, as it must for every mortal, you may choose to walk among us again if you wish. I restore to you that choice, my son. Now go, your companion is coming. He is a good man, but he is out of balance. He must not know.”

 

Daniel nodded, “I understand.” And then he stood up to greet Rodney.

 

“Find anything interesting?” Rodney asked.

 

“Nope, just chatting with these nice young ladies here.” Daniel responded, gesturing to where the old women had stood.

 

“What young ladies?” Rodney asked, confused.

 

Daniel turned around to find the vendor's stall empty as though no one had been there all day. “They must have run off...” He said slowly, looking around.

 

“Yeah, well you have that effect on women.” Rodney quipped. To which Daniel gave a dirty look. “Let's go. I think I know where we can find out more of what's going on.”

 

As they walked away, Daniel felt a strange tingling in his left hand. Unseen and unnoticed, a set of golden triangles had been lightly traced across the back of his hand, and then disappeared.

 

* * *

 

It was mid-morning, and her majesty, Queen Malon, sat in her seat in the council chambers listening to her ministers drone on about the state of the kingdom. Her flame colored hair, flecked with silver had been done back into a thick braid, the crown of Hyrule resting comfortably above it.

 

The Council of Ministers meeting was a ritual that she held once every two weeks to ensure that she was kept up to date with Hyrule's daily grind. Her sister, so many years before, had only held such councils once a month, but with as fast as Hyrule seemed to be changing and progressing, Malon saw the wisdom in keeping a closer eye.

 

To her right, sat Supreme Commander Oliver, to represent the military. To her left sat the Prime Minister, an aging and portly man, who, despite his appearance, was very competent and had a gift for keeping the other ministers on task. The various other ministers sat in the chairs on opposite sides of the long tables. At the other end of the table sat her son, the crown prince. As he yawned for the fourth time in twenty minutes, she sympathized. She had to stifle one as well. But this was the business of rule, whether you wanted to be anywhere else at the moment was irrelevant, and she did her best to impress that on her twenty five year old son.

 

In front of most of the participants at the table sat delicate porcelain cups of strong tea on matching saucers. There had been three silver platters of pastries arranged on the table for the government officials at the beginning of the meeting, but these had been emptied a half hour before and not replenished. Oliver had declined his cup of tea, as she knew he would in favor of just plain water. John had as well because he preferred a fruit juice in a tall glass in the morning. The other ministers had drained their cups by that point in time, as had she.

 

The one minister whose presence Malon noticed the most, was the one who had been strangely absent all morning. Where is Talon? She wondered. The seat of the Prince-Regent of Eastern Hyrule, at the right hand of the crown prince, had been empty all morning, and no one had seen him enter the castle the day before, as was his usual practice, either. He had never missed her Council meetings before.

 

As the minister of education finished his lecture on the progress of the construction of the new Academy of the Sciences in Kakariko Town in Eldin province, Malon found that she couldn't stifle the next yawn that happened. “Oh, pardon me, minister!” She said apologetically. She then yawned again. “Oh, I'm sorry. How rude of me.” She said, embarrassed.

 

“It is quite alright, your majesty. I'm feeling a little drowsy myself,” the minister of education told her, “I move for us to recess until... until...” The minister's head then dropped to the table.

 

“Minister! Are you alright?” Queen Malon called out. “Minister...” She yawned again. “Are... you...?”

 

“My queen?” Oliver asked as her head began to move dizzily from side to side. Concern gripping him, and he said with much concern, “Your majesty, are you alright?”

 

The crown on her head began to feel very, very heavy, and then her head pitched forward, hitting the table.

 

“Malon, no!” Oliver shouted, jumping to his feet. Across the table, John jumped up as well, yelling, “Mother!”

 

Her crown rolled off of her head, across the table and then veered off with a “clank!” as it hit the stone floor. One by one all the ministers jumped to their feet, only to find themselves collapsing onto the floor. Only Oliver and John remained on their feet, John running to his mother's side and Oliver trying to rouse her.

 

“GUARDSMEN!” Oliver shouted at the top of his lungs. “GET THE HEALERS! NOW! RIGHT NOW! WATER OF LIFE IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBERS! RIGHT NOW!”

 

Everything after that seemed to be a blur because the next thing John knew, hewas on his knees next to his mother. Oliver was at her side opposite him holding her hand and calling her name softly, “Malon? Malon, wake up!” All semblance of protocol forgotten.

 

Within minutes healers in white coats flooded the room carrying bottles of a viscous red liquid. They quickly paired off going from person to person beginning with the queen, gently parting their lips to administer the miraculous Hylian medicine.

 

John and Oliver watched as the healer dripped the special red medicine known commonly as “water of life” between the lips of the deeply sleeping queen with an eyedropper. The two men had moved her carefully out of her wooden seat to the stone floor of the council chamber, her head carefully pillowed by Oliver's balled up uniform coat. The queen reflexively swallowed the liquid, but she did not wake up. Other healers around the room moved among the fallen ministers with similar results.

 

“Why isn't she waking up?” Her son asked.

 

“I don't know yet, your highness. So far she and the ministers are just asleep. I'm working off the assumption that they were poisoned by something in what they ate or drank.” The dark haired Hylian man in the white coat told him.

 

“Poisoned? Why? Who?” John asked. He couldn't think of anyone who would want to harm his mother. She had been dearly loved by all of their people. Across from him, Oliver's face became stone hard as he grappled with the implications and his own building rage. “Who would do this to her?” His voice felt raw and strained as he spoke the question.

 

“The two of you are the only ones who did not drink the tea,” The healer replied, pointing to the water and juice glasses that stood in contrast to the tea cups.

 

“We didn't eat the pastries either.” John said, remembering. “I wasn't hungry after breakfast, and Oliver doesn't like them. They're too sweet.” They seemed like such insignificant details, but they meant the difference. He was still awake because of the extra helping of pancakes in the kitchen. It seemed absurd, but it was the truth.

 

The healer nodded. “It could be a spell of some kind too, but I've never seen one like this cast that would have missed the two of you at opposite ends of the table and hit everyone else.” The healer went on. “So the logical conclusion would be a poison, or some kind of potion in the food.”

 

Just then the sleeping minister of education began to convulse violently. The healers who had been administering the medicine to the fallen officials rushed to his side to medicate him as well. His convulsions became so violent that they couldn't get the medicine into his mouth. He then stopped moving at all and exhaled his last breath. As the healers faced the shock of his loss, checking his pulse and any signs of life they knew of. Two more officials, the ministers of agriculture and technology began to convulse as well. Within minutes, they were confirmed dead.

 

“Goddesses save us.” Oliver said on his knees as he looked at the face of his queen with concern, his eyes beginning to water. The healers watched with dread as they knew she would be the next to convulse, followed by the other ministers. Seconds went by, and then minutes, but those afflicted all remained peacefully asleep, with no change.

 

“Keep the water of life going on them!” The lead healer called out. “Constant dosage! Every ten minutes! It may be the only way to keep them alive. Asleep, but alive.” He then turned to Prince John, “Your highness, I don't know how long or even how often we'll need to keep dosing them. I'm going to need every bottle of red and blue water of life in the castle, and as much as we can get from the town. We need to keep administering it for as long as we can until we find a way to counteract it. If you've got a hidden cache of Fairy's Tears, now would be the time to tell me.”

 

John looked to his mother as he knelt next to her, holding her hand. He didn't respond.

 

“Your highness, I need royal authority to authorize taking Castle Town's medical supplies.” The healer said urgently. “Please your highness, with your mother... like this, you are now our sovereign until we can bring her out of this.”

 

A shock of panic ran through John's body. He didn't want it. His mother was the sovereign. She would always be his sovereign. He closed his eyes and forced the panic down. This is what I was born for, he told himself. He then looked at the healer and nodded, “Do it.” He managed to say. The healer immediately handed the bottle of red liquid and eyedropper to another healer to take his place, and went to make it happen.

 

“Oh, mother.” John said, bringing his lips down to gently kiss his mother's hand. “Who could have done this to you?”

 

* * *

 

“I have received a dreadful message for you from the telegraph device, your highness.” Grima approached Talon as the prince regent was inspecting the guardsmen training in the Citadel grounds.

 

“Oh? What now?” Talon asked.

 

“Your queen mother and her royal ministers have all been poisoned, your highness. Only your brother, and Supreme Commander Oliver escaped. Your brother, Prince John has requested that you return to Hyrule Castle at once.” Grima's said with some urgency.

 

“Poisoned?! By who?!” Talon whirled around to face his silver bearded adviser. He felt as though someone had punched his stomach. “Mother... Of course, I must go.”

 

“Of course you must, your highness. Only I would not recommend you go alone.” Grima said, grave concern filling his words.

 

“It is my childhood home, Grima. Why wouldn't I go alone?” Talon said as he forgot his troops' inspection and began walking rapidly towards his personal residence to make his preparations. “I should have been there anyway. I might have prevented it if I had just gone to my mother's Council meeting like she requested. Instead I was here having to deal with rebel Sages!”

 

“The awful question occurs to me, your highness, who profits the most from your mother's illness, and goddesses forbid, her death?” Grima asked.

 

Talon stopped in mid-stride. “What are you saying, old man?” He asked angrily.

 

“Think, your highness!” Grima said, more aggressively. “I ask you, who is left to rule the kingdom with your mother and her ministers gone? Who were the only two at the Council meeting who did not fall to the poison? I don't want to be saying this, your highness, but you know the answer.”

 

Talon couldn't believe what he was hearing. His own twin brother, and Oliver who had always been like a father to him after his own father had died... What was happening? It was unthinkable. “No... that's not possible. They would never...” He protested.

 

“The evidence speaks to the contrary, your highness.” Grima said, his voice oozing fatherly compassion.

 

Talon felt dizzy, his mind couldn't reconcile it. His hands went to his head to support it, and without warning he screamed into them, “Aarrrghhh!!”

 

All around him guardsmen rushed to his aid. “Your highness!” They shouted as they reached him. “Your highness, are you alright?”

 

“No.” He said, straightening himself up. His eyes were red and puffy as he uncovered his face. “No, guardsman, I am not alright.” He said calmly, but with steel. “Hyrule is not alright. My mother and her ministers are not alright.” Anger built up within him, a rage which would not be easily contained. “Send for the captains of my legions.” He told him.

 

“Yes, sir.” The guardsman obeyed and ran to find them.

 

“So, my brother wants me to come home immediately, Grima?” Talon asked, menace in his voice. “Then that's exactly what I will do. I will go home and make things right.”


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

 

The passenger car of the train they rode in away from Nabooru Town wasn't as smooth as the one they had taken to it. It didn't necessarily help that the car was packed full of uniformed guardsmen heading towards the seaside town of Westport. Talking freely didn't seem to be an option for them, and so they sat mostly in silence for the two hour trip.

 

Their last day in Nabooru had been spent walking around the town and casually trying to learn as much as they could about the world they were now traveling through. Daniel's academic curiosity was fascinated at the sights and the people. “I could write whole books about just this town.” He had told Rodney as he was trying to take it all in.

 

“Check out the local Game Stop store in Vancouver. It's been done.” Rodney had quipped, reminding Daniel of the unique nature of the world they were journeying through. “Okay, I've seen enough of this place, anyway.” He said, thinking in disgust of the other day's newspaper. “We should start thinking about how to get to the Temple of Time from here, on the other side of Hyrule.”

 

“Well, what's the chance of there being a train to the coast?” Daniel asked.

 

“Probably pretty good. Westport used to be a pretty major seaport between Western and Eastern Hyrule, I don't see why that would have changed. The trick is going to be hiring a boat to take us across.”

 

“One problem at a time. Let's check out the trains.” Daniel said.

 

“Right.” Rodney answered.

 

When they arrived at the train station, that was when things began to not look so good. It was jammed with blue uniformed, armed Hylian Guardsmen. “Officers.” Rodney noted from their rank insignias, “and a lot of them going to Westport.”

 

“If these are the officers, where are the enlisted troops?” Daniel asked before they boarded the silver and blue colored train.

 

As they rode the train and watched the countryside out through the windows, they got their answer. The train had flown by thousands of troops marching in formation on the road in the same direction they were heading. Daniel and Rodney had looked at each other, eyebrows raised in alarm. Along with the marching troops were cannons and artillery pieces being drawn on wagons by horses.

 

“What is going on?” Rodney whispered to Daniel. “Are they at war with someone? Why didn't we hear anything about it?”

 

One the guardsmen, a lieutenant by his rank overheard Rodney's question, and answered it in a quiet voice so that he wouldn't be overheard. “War indeed, sir. It's a dark day for Hyrule, that's for sure. Goddesses forgive us.”

 

“What's happened?” Daniel asked in a whisper.

 

“Prince Regent Talon is sending us to Western Hyrule. He says the queen's been poisoned, and his brother and the Sages have been blamed. He wants to raze all the temples and 'bring the Sages to justice.'” The officer answered, shuddering. “I knew John when I was a raw recruit. He's a good man. Loves his queen mother just as much as Talon. Doesn't care a whit about ruling though, not like his brother. It doesn't make any sense.” He shook his head. “It's not right, sir. A lot of us don't think it's right, but we've got our orders. He'll bring down the wrath of the goddesses on us all before he's through.” He pulled out a triangle pendant from under his shirt and held it tight in his left hand before quickly returning it to its cover.

 

“Oh god.” Rodney said quietly. None of them spoke the rest of the trip.

 

* * *

 

John sat by his mother's bed as the healer changed the bottle for the next dose of red water of life. He hadn't moved from her side since the previous morning. His appetite had left him, and his eyes were red and bloodshot. He tried to force them open every time they tried to close on him, but several times throughout the day and night he found himself dreaming of a silver haired man laughing at him from the darkness.

 

Oliver stopped in at her room to check on her, and John, every hour. Every time he asked the healers about her condition, and every time he left the room with a dark, anguished look in his eyes which he could not and did not give voice to.

 

The queen had been carefully moved to her private chambers and laid on her bed where the healers had given her constant attention. Her lips were stained red from the medicine being dripped into her mouth. The healers had set up a simple machine that fed the red liquid through a tube to where it dripped into her mouth. She remained sleeping peacefully, but no better.

 

Another minister, who had been accidentally overlooked, missed a dose and had succumbed to the convulsions hours before. Efforts were redoubled by the healers to keep the medicine flowing to the afflicted. Water of life supplies were dwindling in the castle, and more had to be taken from Castle Town's hospital to keep the treatments going. Hospital alchemists worked round the clock to prepare more. The healers had never seen anything like it. A legacy concoction from their ancient past distilled from a certain mushroom, the water of life cured any disease, poison, or illness, normally. It had been known to mend broken bones, and bring those on the verge of death back from the brink. Right now, it was the only thing that stood between the queen and a convulsive death.

 

“Your highness,” the healer, his white coat stained with red from droplets of the medicine, addressed John gently. He was an older, gray haired gentleman who had cared for the royal family for years, and John since he was a small boy.

 

The prince looked up at him, not responding otherwise.

 

“Your highness, you need to get rest yourself. You have not slept for over a day. Hyrule needs her crown prince to be strong for all of us right now. Please, we will watch your mother. Go, get some rest.” The healer said.

 

“Has there been any message from my brother? Do you know when he will be here?” John asked him.

 

“I have heard nothing your highness. But if there had been a message for you from the Prince Regent it would have been brought to you immediately.” He then repeated more firmly. “Go and get some sleep, your highness. Please. Healer's orders if need be.”

 

“I thought I was the sovereign while my mother was ill.” John retorted.

 

“Not when it comes to your health, your highness.” The healer replied. “I swear to you we will use all the knowledge and power we have to help her majesty. I will send for you if anything changes.”

 

John nodded, and finally relented. He stood up, his legs, cramped and stiff, complained as he started moving towards the doorway and out of the room. He took one last look at his mother's sleeping form and left the room into the stone halls of the royal residence.

 

He looked down the hall towards the door to his own bedchamber. It was the one he had shared for most of his life with his twin brother. Next to it was the sealed door of the Hero's private chamber, his father's room. No one had entered it since his mother had moved out of it. No one could. Because of it, Supreme Commander Oliver had taken a chamber in a separate part of the palace, closer to the training grounds. Like the sacred sword of legend, the door responded to one master alone. It would no longer even open for his mother after she had it sealed. John knew this because there were times through his life he had secretly observed her attempting to enter it, or just quietly talking to the closed door.

 

“Sleep.” He said sarcastically. “Right. That's going to happen.”

 

He turned away from the door to his bedchamber and went to leave the royal residence for the royal family's private chapel at the end of the hall. As far as he knew, it would be empty of anyone else at that time of the day.

 

“If ever there was a time we needed your help, grandmother, it is now.” He whispered the prayer as he walked with purpose through the halls and down flights of stone steps. The palace seemed emptier than normal to him as he walked it. The walls seemed grayer than normal.

 

The paintings of past monarchs, many princesses and queens named Zelda, as well as paintings of the Hero throughout many, many lifetimes seemed less colorful, less joyful. He had never noticed before, but it seemed to him that they were all of the same man. He stopped and really looked at them. It was true. Each one of them could have been his father, or even himself or his brother as much as they resembled their father. The portraits of the Zeldas also seemed to be of the same woman, the aunt he had known when he was very young. Other monarchs, his ancestors, graced the walls as well, including his grandfather, King Gaepora. But between Zelda the twentieth, and Zelda the hundredth, there seemed to be no difference. The same wise, blue eyes, high cheekbones, and blond hair stared back at him from all of them. “How could that be possible?” He asked no one in particular.

 

“The goddess returned to lead us again and again.” A female voice answered. It was one he knew well, though he had not thought to see her in that place in that moment. Like the others of her order, she rarely left her rightful place except the most urgent of times.

 

“The Sage of Light ventures from her temple.” John said. “You go to see my mother?”

 

“I am aware of her condition. I will do all that I can for her as you ask.” Aurina told him sincerely. “But that is not why I have come to the palace.”

 

“What then?” He asked, forgetting her proper address as “your grace.” His temper had grown short from his lack of sleep, and concern for his mother. His manners were beginning to be forgotten.

 

Aurina took no notice of the slight. “The unthinkable had happened, your highness.”

 

“This is not news, your grace.” John told her, facing her. “I have just spent all night watching the unthinkable happen.”

 

“There is worse than the unthinkable then, your highness.” The Sage said.

 

“What could be worse, your grace, than the monarch of Hyrule near death?” John let out a sigh of exasperation. He rubbed his face with his hands. His mood became increasingly more foul.

 

“The temples of Hyrule being destroyed and her Sages being imprisoned by the Prince Regent.” Aurina answered.

 

“What are you talking about?” John asked, confused.

 

“My brother and sister Sages in Eastern Hyrule have communicated with me. The Temples of Earth and Wind have been destroyed, and what is left has been buried under mounds of rubble. Your brother has ordered their destruction. What's more, he has ordered the arrest of the Sages, and appears to be massing the Eastern legions at Westport. They do not know why.”

 

“Why would he do that, Aurina?” John asked, his civilities just about gone. Aurina wasn't much older than himself. At one time when they were younger, before she had been awakened as a Sage, he had even had a crush on her. “What do you think he intends to do? Invade the West?”

 

“He is under the influence of an evil man.” She said gravely. “They do not know what he intends to do next, but his blasphemies will bring down the divine wrath on all of us if he is not stopped.” The bronze skinned Sage told him.

 

The world spun around John as he tried to comprehend this new information. “My brother has turned against the Sages? Has he lost his mind?” Was it possible? John asked himself.

 

“Or someone has stolen it from him, your highness. In either event, the result is the same.” She said wearily. “I will go to your queen mother and use all the power the god of light has given me. But you must stop your brother, or it may be for nothing if the gods retaliate against us for his evil.” She then put her hand on his shoulder in a more familiar way, “Hyrule needs you, John. She needs you like never before.”

 

“What can I do about it?” John asked her, frustrated. “If he's truly been throwing Sages in chains, what makes you think he'll listen to me?”

 

“When Hyrule fell into darkness before, there was always a Hero who rose from obscurity to deliver us through it.” Aurina said, gesturing to the portraits of Heroes past, all seemingly the same man. “If your brother continues down this path, Hyrule will fall into darkness from which it cannot recover.”

 

“Hyrule doesn't need me.” John said looking at the portrait in front of him. “It needs my father. And I am not him.”

 

“She needs a Hero, John.” Aurina said, then she lightly kissed him on the cheek, and left for the royal residence, leaving him alone with his thoughts.

 

“Guardsmen! Where is Supreme Commander Oliver?” He called out, though he knew he would not be far from his mother's bedchamber.

 

* * *

 

It was late afternoon, the day after he had received the message that had turned his world upside down. The Prince Regent stood just outside of his command tent outside the walls of Westport Town. Next to him was a young officer who had given him the afternoon reports he had requested, and he wasn't pleased. His orders had been carried out, but he felt no victory in them.

 

Talon read the reports on the destruction of the offending temples, but took no satisfaction in them. “What a waste.” He said as he handed the papers back to the lieutenant who had given them to him. Did the Sages disrespect their own sacred charges, glories of Hylian art, science, and faith, so cavalierly that they forced him to move against them? He snorted in disgust.

 

He turned his attention to the ranks upon ranks of Eastern soldiers that had been massing since the day before at Westport. There had been too many to send them all by train, and the cavalry could not ride the rails so easily, so he had to resign himself to waiting for them to arrive the “old fashioned way.” It would take two more days before they would be all in place. It mattered little. The transport ships were having to sail from the shipyards at Eastport around the north of the huge island that was Eastern Hyrule, they wouldn't be here until the day after tomorrow.

 

Talon himself was dressed in the blue uniform of his men, distinguished only by the crown insignia on his collar. But his face was so well known among them, his bearing so crisp and stately, no one mistook him for a common soldier. Grima, who rarely seemed to leave his prince's side, was nowhere to be seen at the moment.

 

“How has it come to this so quickly?” He asked out loud to no one in particular. “What evil power has so possessed you my brother that you would poison our own mother?” The anger rose up within him again at the thought of his brother's horrific betrayal. “I will bring you to justice. I swear it on our father's grave.”

 

In the shadows of the tent behind him, a dark figure, seemingly made of shadow, watched the prince intently, listening to every word he said. A cold intensity radiated from his very presence as his red eyes glowed. The prince felt a cold presence touch his shoulder. He turned to see who might have been behind him, but he saw nothing. There was no one there. He returned his attention to overseeing the mass of troops before him.

 

* * *

 

“Okay, now what?” Daniel asked as they stood in the market square of Mido Town. It was just past sunrise when the passenger ferry came into port in Western Hyrule and they had stepped off onto the wooden docks. The trip by sea had cost them almost all of the rest of their rupees.

 

“Ugh, give me a second.” Rodney's face was still a bit greenish from the crossing the night before as he bent over, still trying to get his stomach under control.

 

“You know, I still can't believe you got sea-sick all night, Rodney,” Daniel said. “You've lived in a floating city now for more than eight years.”

 

“Yeah, well Atlantis doesn't start bouncing up and down every time it encounters a miniscule wave, now does it?” Rodney retorted. He took a deep breath and stood up. Well, at least the ground's stopped moving underneath me, he thought. “Not everyone can just cozy up in a hammock during a storm now can they? I think I'm going to have nightmares about that toilet for the rest of my life.”

 

Rodney looked around the town. Like the rest of Hyrule, it seemed to have grown and matured since the last time he was there. “I wonder what they're using to generate their electricity?” He asked out loud. “They don't really have any fossil fuels that I know of, and I don't smell any pollution like from a coal plant anywhere nearby. Come to think of it, the trains and the steamer didn't put off any noticeable pollution either.”

 

“Didn't you design their steam engine plans?” Daniel asked.

 

“Well, yeah, I built a few engines, but I always had to use wood or some kind of a magical gizmo to heat the water to make it work. I didn't think they could really put them into mass usage though.” Rodney said.

 

“Time-shift crystals, sir.” An older voice said out loud.

 

“Huh?” Rodney turned around to find an older, white haired Hylian gentleman with spectacles in a brown waistcoat and trousers, with a white shirt and black tie. “Time-shift crystals? Where did you get...?”

 

“We used time-shift crystals to energize the water and create the steam. An ancient mine was discovered twenty-five years ago in Lanayru province and we started working it again.” The old man said proudly. “They power all of our steam turbines and engines.”

 

“How do you keep them from shifting people into the past? That was the whole reason I avoided using them in the first...” Rodney started in. He had considered the blue crystals far too unstable on many levels to use for a power source.

 

The old man cut him off. “By the goddesses!” He said, lowering his spectacles to get a better look at Rodney. “It can't be. That was thirty years ago. Doctor McKay, is that really you?”

 

Daniel's eyebrows went up as he asked, “You know him?” To which Rodney also added, “You know me?”

 

“I knew Doctor Rodney McKay, the wizard scientist from another reality thirty years ago. He was my mentor, or rather I was his assistant.” The older man said, still trying to believe his own eyes.

 

Rodney studied his face, and thought long and hard, he then snapped his fingers and asked, “Oran? From Saria Town, right? You worked with me developing the steam engine designs.”

 

“And the rifles, and the aircraft which we still haven't fully been able to implement.” The older man moved to shake Rodney's hand vigorously, “Oh, it's good to see you, sir. I had heard rumors of Colonel Shepherd's short return to us twenty years ago during those troubled days, but I always wondered what had happened to you.”

 

“Well, I got sent home with the rest of the band at the Temple of Time.” Rodney said.

 

“Speaking of which,” Daniel chimed in, “that's kind of where we need to get to. We uh, got here by accident and are trying to get home. You wouldn't by any chance know how we might be able to get there from here, would you?”

 

“The Temple of Time?” Oran asked, rubbing his chin thinking. “I don't know exactly where it is except that it's in Faron Province, and that it's under heavy guard. You would need permission from the Royal Family to venture there, or else the Guardsmen would arrest you before you got close, if they didn't just shoot you on sight. Security's pretty tight at all the Temples now.”

 

“The Royal Family?” Daniel asked. “How might we gain an audience with them?”

 

“Well, Queen Malon's a reasonable, and generous woman,” Oran said. “I'm sure if you two told her who you were and why you needed to get there, she'd be willing to see that you make it. Either her or Prince John. I'm going there myself come the noon train if you two gentleman want to join me. I have to deliver a report to the minister of technology at the palace.”

 

“Wait, so the queen's okay?” Rodney asked.

 

“As far as I know. Why wouldn't she be?” Oran asked. “Of course I've been here in Mido for the last week, so I haven't heard any news from the palace.”

 

Daniel quickly spoke up, “We had just heard that her majesty had become ill recently.”

 

“Well, if she's under the weather than it's Prince John or Supreme Commander Oliver that you'll be wanting to talk to then. Come to think of it, Oliver might even remember you, Doctor McKay.” Oran told him.

 

“We'd love to, but our rupees have run a little short.” Rodney said. “I don't suppose you know where we could hitch a ride?”

 

“That's not a problem, doctor. No, not for you, sir. You can travel with me. I have a royal pass that allows me to ride the trains with a small number of guests. I'm the chief technologist for steam power development.” Oran said proudly. “Please, be my guests for a drink at the inn while we wait for our train.” He invited them. “Mido's pumpkin whiskey is second to none!”

 

“We'd be happy to.” Daniel said for the both of them, planning on something with a little less bite. Rodney nodded in agreement. As the three of them walked across the market square towards the Stranded Sailor Inn, Rodney asked, “So, how did you solve the time-shift problem?”

 

“When we uncovered the mines, we found ancient blueprints giving us the insights we needed to make it possible. It was an interesting series of accidents actually, involving a timeshift bubble thousands of years in the past and a very helpful talking machine called a 'robot'!.” Oran said.

 

“Did you just say a 'robot'?” Daniel asked in disbelief.

 

“Yes, a funny, but very helpful little fellow!” Oran then began to regale them the entire story of how the time-shift steam engine was born with the help of an ancient mining robot's knowledge.

 

* * *

 

“Goddesses have mercy on us.” John whispered as he observed the ranks of gray uniformed soldiers in front of him. He wore a gray officer's uniform with the royal Triforce crest and a crown on the collar. “How could it have come to needing this? Is my brother insane?” Two legions of guardsmen had been called up and assembled within the last twenty-four hours. Most of those in front of him had already been present at Castle Town and the surrounding villages and farms, about a thousand men, including Cavalry. The rest were being assembled at Rauru Town to wait for the legion from Castle Town to head on towards Mido Town and confront Talon's forces, if that's where he intended to land them; if he intended to land them in Western Hyrule..

 

John, Oliver and the other generals of Hyrule's forces discussed, and planned, and discussed again for an hour the day before, until they felt this was their only option. If his twin brother had truly lost his mind and planned an invasion of the mainland, then they had to meet him in kind. The beach near Mido Town was determined to be the most likely site for a strategic landing, the northern routes through the desert being infested with the huge razor bladed peahats and other demons of the wastelands. The danger from them was the reason why there was no shipping port on the north coast. Talon knew as well as they did that he'd lose half his forces if he brought them through the north.

 

Messages had gone out by telegraph to the nearby towns, and by rider to the surrounding farms and small villages. Those soldiers who had not already been in Castle Town began pouring in by nightfall, answering the royal call to arms. Temple guards had been doubled with what remaining forces could be spared due to Aurina's warning. They would be marching the next day, and John and Oliver would be leading them.

 

Oliver had protested at the crown prince's decision at the war meeting, “Your highness, with your mother ill, you are Hyrule's monarch right now, I cannot allow you to...”

 

“You cannot allow me?” John had said interrupting him, taking a tone of authority Oliver had never heard from him before. “I am the crown prince. You cannot forbid me, Supreme Commander! I will not ask our guardsmen to fight and die without being willing to do so myself.” He then softened his tone, and said, “He is my brother, Oliver. And the task of guarding the Sages and their temples has always fallen to the royal family. If this is anyone's responsibility it is mine. And I will not sit back here in a fortified castle like a coward while thousands of Hyrule's sons shed blood in my or my mother's name. Would she have me remain? Would my father? What about the goddess of courage herself, Farore, my grandmother? How would my remaining honor her?” John had countered. “I'm going, and if need be I will shed blood and die with them as one of them. I can't do any less for them or for Hyrule.” He was resolute, and Oliver's protests were silenced.

 

John had hated that meeting the day before. He hated even the thought of it, because of the decisions which had to be made. It was a bad dream made real in the daylight, as was the mass of troops mustered in front of him on the training field. The troops he knew he would have to lead into combat against their own people; against his own brother.

 

“Your highness!” A soldier's voice called out to him. It was a young man he didn't know personally. There were a lot of soldiers here he didn't know personally. That bothered him too. “When will I wake up from this nightmare?” He silently asked himself. “Over here!” He called out.

 

“Your highness, Supreme Commander Oliver requests your presence in the Council Chamber. It appears there's been a development. Something about 'unexpected guests.'” The young man said.

 

“Yes, of course. I'll go at once. Lead the way.” John responded. Anything to get away from this sight. He thought.

 

* * *

 

“Link?!” Rodney blurted out the first time he saw the crown prince. He actually rubbed his eyes to confirm that it wasn't who he thought it was.

 

“I'm sorry?” The younger Hylian man said in response.

 

“No, I'm sorry your, uh, highness, but holy moly you look just like him.” Rodney replied. “Except for the hair. Link was always more of a darker blond.”

 

“And you would be?” The gray uniformed crown prince asked in confusion.

 

Oliver interceded for the two of them, “Your highness, this is Doctor Rodney McKay. He is the...”

 

“Rodney McKay? My father used to tell us stories about you when I was a child! I am John.” John said enthusiastically, moving to shake Rodney's hand. His mood then turned more somber, “Your arrival is ill timed I am afraid. I would have liked to have had your company for a time and exchange stories of my father. As it stands we may be on the brink of a war we do not want.”

 

“Yes, your highness. Doctor McKay and his friend, Doctor Daniel Jackson have just confirmed our worst fears. Your brother sails for Mido Town within days, and he brings at least a legion of men with him, including cavalry and artillery.” Oliver told him gravely.

 

“Then it's true. My brother has lost his mind.” John said, feeling like he had been physically struck. “We have no more options then, do we Oliver?”

 

“I don't see any.” Oliver said. “We will have to face them on the field of battle. I'm sorry your highness.”

 

Daniel then spoke up, “Uh, look, I know I'm the new guy here, but isn't there any way you can talk to your brother? Or at least his troops? From what we heard on the train, it didn't sound like they really wanted to be risking the wrath of the goddesses by carrying out his orders.”

 

“If only there was a way to make them listen.” Oliver agreed. “The best way to win a battle is to keep it from happening in the first place. But they are trained to be loyal to their prince regent. As you yourself saw, Doctor Jackson, they have mustered under his banner even knowing the consequences.”

 

“They would have listened to my father.” John said, pensively. “They would have listened to the Hero of Hyrule in his green tunic and wielding the Master Sword of legend.” He put his hand to his chin deep in thought and moved off by himself in the room.

 

Oliver turned to face the two weary men again with empathy. “Thank you for your news, dire as it is. I am sorry we cannot show you more hospitality after such a long trip doctors, but please feel free to avail yourself of anything the castle may offer at this time. Maybe once this is over...”

 

“Actually, what we really need is to get to the Temple of Time.” Rodney said bluntly. “It's the main reason why we came to the castle.”

 

“The Temple of Time? Why on earth would you need to go there?” Oliver said, taken aback. “Only the royal family and their representatives may pass into the Sacred Grove, and then not lightly. You don't know what you're asking.”

 

“Uh, yeah, I think I do. I've been there a couple of times.” Rodney responded roughly.

 

Seeing the potential for the conversation to degrade rapidly from their, Daniel spoke up again, “We need to go there because it's the only way we know of to go back to the reality we came from. We're just trying to get home, and the Temple of Time has the only working portal that we know of.” He then turned to Rodney and asked “portal, right?” To which Rodney nodded grumpily. “We're here in Hyrule by accident. We're just trying to get home.”

 

“Be that as it may, Doctor Jackson,” Oliver said, trying to be understanding of their predicament, “especially with the threat made against the temples, I don't think we can permit anyone other than the royal family access to any of the temples, especially not the Temple of Time. Not right now at least.” He said firmly. “It is the oldest and most important of the Temples of Hyrule.”

 

“I understand. But it's also our only chance right now. Perhaps there's some kind of agreement or compromise we could come to.” Daniel asked.

 

“I'm sorry, I really am. But I don't see how it might even be possible for you to enter if we permitted it. Only a Sage, the Hero, or a member of the royal family may enter the sacred place.” Oliver said.

 

“I will go with them. We will leave on the train for Faron woods tonight. This hour if possible.” John spoke up rejoining them.

 

“Your highness, you know that's not possible. The men are to move out tomorrow morning.” Oliver said, not understanding.

 

“That is why I must go. They may travel with me. But I must stand in the place of my father if we have any hope of stopping this battle before it starts.” John said, he then began to tell them his plan.


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

 

“Have I mentioned yet that I think this is a bad plan?” Rodney said to John and Daniel as they stood on the threshold of the Temple of Time.

 

“Yes, you have, Rodney. At least three times since we got off the train.” Daniel replied.

 

“Well it is.” Rodney said again, as John retrieved a silver flute from his coat pocket and began to play the seven notes which would open the doorway. As in the first and only other time Rodney had been there, the symbols on the door frame lit up and a shimmering blue field of energy formed across it.

 

“Bad plan or not, the alternative, Dr. McKay, is Hylian spilling Hylian blood. I would rather die than see that happen.” John said, and then disappeared through the portal.

 

“Come on.” Rodney said in defeat, and then followed him in. Daniel trailed after him.

 

The inside of the temple was much as Rodney remembered it. Of course it would be. The interior of the temple existed outside the normal flow of time. It was all gold, marble, and obsidian décor bathed in a soft golden light. Rodney still hadn't worked out where the light source was coming from. For a moment he expected to be greeted by the annoyingly endearing old lady, Impa who had knowingly trapped him and his team there in Hyrule for six years several years ago. Yes, it was done with the best of intentions, and it all worked out in the end, but it still annoyed him nonetheless. But then he remembered Impa had died and ascended. So then who was the new guardian? He wondered.

 

“So who's the new Sage of Time?” Rodney asked John hopefully. “And when do we get to meet her, or him as the case may be?”

 

“New Sage?” John returned, his eyes scanning the expansive room in front of him. “I don't know of any new Sage of Time since her grace was murdered when I was a boy.” He then added after a minute, “When the time is right, one will be awakened and take her place.”

 

Rodney's facial expression then turned to one of sheer panic. “No Sage?” He asked again, hoping he had heard wrong.

 

“No, why?” John responded.

 

“Why?! I'll tell you why! Because the stargate is retracted into the floor, that's why!” Rodney raised his voice in disgust. “You could have told us that while we were still at Castle Town, it would have at least saved us the trip!”

 

“You didn't ask.” John said, not turning to face them. “You didn't enjoy the train ride across Hyrule? I thought it was very pleasant.” He said, a little too flippantly.

 

“Rodney, calm down.” Daniel spoke up. “There's got to be other ways home from here.”

 

“Hello! Hyrule to Danny-boy! No stargate, no time portal. No time portal, even if we could find the linking book in the library here, it would put us back on Earth thirty years or more in our future! And before you say there's got to be another way again, save it! There isn't! I know! I looked for one for six years!”

 

“Yes, my father used to tell us stories of his adventures with you before he died. We always found them quite humorous.” John said sadly, missing his mother's laugh and the story telling times with his whole family. Sometimes, even his aunt would come and fill in some details in their private chambers. His heart ached at the memory.

 

“Is there anyone else who knows how to operate the, um... portal of time?” Daniel asked John calmly.

 

“No. Only the Sage of Time and the goddess herself that I know of. Perhaps she might be willing to assist if you would offer her a prayer?” John offered.

 

Rodney's face went red, but before he could explode, Daniel intervened. “So then why hasn't a new Sage been appointed?”

 

“Because the goddess has not awakened one. I believe I already said that.” John returned.

 

“So then Sages aren't chosen by some elective process?” Daniel asked, not familiar with Hylian customs and intrigued.

 

“No, they must be awakened by the god or goddess whom they represent. In ancient times, this was also known as the Temple of Hylia. It is Hylia who must awaken her Sage, and she has not yet chosen her new Sage that I am aware of.” John responded.

 

“That almost sounds like the Priors of the Ori.” Daniel responded concerned.

 

“They're similar, but without the 'convert or die' rhetoric.” Rodney told him, trying to come to grips with his severe miscalculation. “They usually just hang out in their temples praying, meditating, or whatever they do unless they have to go somewhere on goddess business. They pretty much stay out of the way of everyday life except for the really important stuff like coronations, royal succession, or the end of the world.”

 

“I see.” Daniel said. “And there's one Sage for every temple?” He asked.

 

“Yes, each temple represents a primal element governed by one of the goddesses or gods,” John answered, “Forest, Fire, Water, Shadow, Spirit, Light, Time, Earth, and Wind. Forest as well as courage is governed by Farore, fire and power by Din, and water and wisdom by Nayru. Hylia governs the primal element of Time and is also the ancient progenitor and guardian of the Hylian royal family.”

 

“Hylia?” Daniel asked. “Wasn't she also..?”

 

“Zelda.” Rodney answered, still flustered. “Zelda was Hylia's mortal incarnation.”

 

“In every age of Hyrule's existence yes. My aunt returned to us again and again to lead her people and protect us with her wisdom in our darkest times.” John said, his eyes finally fixed on what they had been seeking.”

 

Daniel tried to process that. “So, just as Link was reborn time and again, so was Zelda?”

 

“Yes. My father was continuously reborn as well through the will of Farore to fight the Demon King and keep him contained.” John said, beginning his reverent approach to the pedestal where his father's sword slept peacefully. “The goddesses continuously returned them to us to deliver us in our times of need against the oppression and enslavement of the Demon King.”

 

“They continuously ascended and retook human form after they died,” Daniel said, putting the pieces together in his head, “for thousands of years because only they could use the _lamna clavia_ to keep the Demon King contained.”

 

“Except it wasn't Link's choice.” Rodney added to Daniel's train of thought. “Or if it was, he didn't remember any of it until the crap hit the fan. I'm not sure Zelda did either.”

 

“So someone else continuously sent them back, with or without their consent? Who?” Daniel asked.

 

“Knowing Link and Zelda, I don't think it was without their consent. They could both be pretty stubborn when they needed to be.” Rodney told him, his eyes moving back and forth across the chamber trying, and failing, to work up a plan to raise and operate the stargate himself. “Useless.” He kept saying. “No, that won't work. Dammit.”

 

“What?” Daniel asked.

 

“Even if I could get the stargate raised, I would still need to know the extra coordinates to put us on Atlantis and in the right time zone, so to speak. Not to mention the power requirements. The last time Impa did this, she had the Triforce of Power.”

 

At this Daniel pursed his lips and stayed silent, thinking of the pendant hanging around his neck.

 

Rodney continued, “We could use it to go back in time thirty years ago and then find the linking book, but I don't know how to make it do that, and there's no computer consoles for me to find out how! Not even my own tablet!” He was fuming. Rodney was powerless in a way he hadn't been for a long time, and his fate was literally in the hands of gods he didn't believe in much less trust.

 

John hadn't been listening to this last part of their argument. Instead he had, humbly and with much reverence, gone to stand before the Master Sword embedded in its stone pedestal. He had then dropped to one knee, bent his head low and offered a prayer to his goddesses.

 

“Great goddesses of Hyrule,” He began, “Din, Nayru, and grandmother Farore, hear me, please. Lady Hylia, ancestor and aunt lend me your ear, I humbly implore you. Hyrule is in danger once more from within. If nothing is done, all that you have worked for, your sacrifices, my father's sacrifice, will have been for nothing. I am in need of your power, your wisdom, and your courage to fight this evil. My queen mother has been poisoned and she sleeps a deathly sleep. The healers of our land have no cure for it. As I speak, my traitorous brother moves to invade our land, destroy your temples, murder your Sages, and usurp the throne which I would have given him freely and gladly. But it wasn't my will, but your will that I be named heir. I am not my father, the great Hero who became our savior time and time again, but to fight this evil, I must try and become him for all of our sakes. I humbly ask your blessing as I go to take up his sword in your names to fight this evil, or die in the attempt.”

 

Then, standing up, he strode with purpose towards the pedestal. It was then that Rodney came out of his despair long enough to notice what the prince was doing and he panicked once again, knowing full well what the consequences of the younger man's actions could be.

 

“Wait, John.” Rodney tried to stop him. “Only your father or your aunt could safely touch that sword. It's the reason why they kept coming back. If you try it, it could roast you.” He let that last sentence hang in the air. Daniel stayed silent, taking the scene in. He then realized that this was a fate, a destiny, which John had to find the courage to accept on his own.

 

“I am not my father,” John said, standing over the sapphire hilt of the sword in the pedestal, “but I am still my father's son.” And he gripped the hilt of the Master Sword with both hands, risking his certain death, and began to pull upwards.

 

Rodney covered his eyes with his hands saying, “Oh I can't look!”

 

The sword resisted his pull at first, and then, “Recognition accepted,” came a strange female voice, “Master...” The voice trailed off, uncertain. There was a pause, then the voice said, “Error in recognition, both gene sets recognized. Situation impossible. Identity of Master unknown.” John's fingers began to tingle painfully as hot energy began to build up in the hilt, preparing to be released.

 

“I am John, son of Link and Malon; grandson of Gaepora, king of Hyrule; nephew of Zelda; Crown Prince of Hyrule.” John said with definitive purpose and authority, determined to be master over his father's sword or die in the attempt.

 

The intelligence within the sword seemed to pause as she considered this new information. Then after a minute the painful burning in John's hands faded away. “Identity accepted, Master John, Crown Prince of Hyrule.” The sword finally conceded, and John finally exhaled as he realized he hadn't taken a breath since he grasped the sword. John then pulled upward with all of his strength and the sword slid free of its ancient stone sheath.

 

“I don't believe it.” Rodney said, unshielding his eyes to look at the scene in front of him, so reminiscent of a scene he encountered many years before with another young hero he had known, and he was filled with a slight spark of... kinship with the young man in front of him. Yeah, if Rodney had to put a name to the feeling, it would have been kinship, just as Link had become something like family to him in the same way Shepherd, Teyla, and even Ronan had. “That shouldn't have happened. The genome has to be precise, I've seen the blueprints!”

 

The form of a strange blue and silver young woman emerged. “I am Fi.” The young woman said. “I am the spirit of the Master Sword. Why have I been awoken like this?” She demanded an answer from the prince holding her real form.

 

“Great spirit of the sword of swords, we have need of your might once more. Hyrule faces a great darkness once again.” John said with reverent awe.

 

“Yeah, when doesn't it?” Rodney whispered to Daniel. Daniel, who had been standing with his arms crossed put his finger to his lips to signal him to be quiet.

 

“I understand. I had been informed that the Demon King was dead by Master Link. This is highly unusual Master John.” Fi responded.

 

“It isn't the Demon King that threatens Hyrule, Fi.” John said, “But my own brother. Nothing is the same as it was.” His voice dripped with bitter anger and sorrow at the betrayal he felt. “My brother Talon means to take Hyrule away from our mother, Queen Malon.”

 

“I am not meant to be used to settle family disputes, Master!” Fi said indignantly.

 

“Great sword, this is no mere family argument.” Daniel spoke up, addressing Fi. “Prince Talon has come under the influence of an evil sorcerer and he is not himself. We humbly ask you to help us reawaken the spirit of his father which has fallen dormant within him. We ask you to help us restore the faith of Hyrule's ancestral Hero to her people.”

 

Fi considered this silently. “How?” She asked.

 

“Be our symbol, Lady Fi. Be the symbol of the hope which my father and aunt represented to our people. Let us show the people together that though their legend may have been brought to an end, their spirit and memory live on in us; all of us.” John said. “If we can stir the hearts of our people then maybe we can avoid having brother spilling brother's blood.”

 

“A worthy goal, but I calculate only an eleven percent chance of success at our mission.” Fi reported.

 

“Then we still have some chance.” John said. “Will you fight this battle with me as you fought with my father?”

 

“I am at your service, Master John.” Fi replied resolutely.

 

* * *

 

The dark clothed figure seemed to just materialize out of the shadows of wooden crates waiting to be loaded onto a ferry the next morning at the shipping docks of Westport. It was the middle of the night, and there was no one else around. The old, silver haired and bearded man had been expecting him.

 

“Were you followed?” The old man asked, suspiciously.

 

“Can a shadow be followed? I was out of Castle Town before the queen hit the floor.” The dark clothed figure replied. “No one sees me. No one ever will. Do you have my payment?”

 

“Are you certain there's no way for the queen to recover from the poison?” The old man asked, ignoring the question for the moment. “I've seen what kinds of miracles water of life can do.”

 

“Not with this special recipe.” The dark one said. “They'd have to be feeding it to her constantly, and even then the medicine can only keep a person alive for so long. The Sheikah know their poisons very well, adviser. She will be dead within the week, as will her ministers.”

 

“You missed the crown prince.” Grima said matter of factly. “He was supposed to fall with his mother, and the Sages take the blame for it. I had to improvise with the prince regent. Now instead of a bloodless coup and a mourning puppet king, I have an invasion and a civil war to manage. You have complicated my plans with your mistake.”

 

“I can't be held responsible if the little crown prince isn't hungry and doesn't drink his tea!” The Sheikah assassin whispered loudly. He then returned to a calmer voice. “It is of little concern. He is nothing. He sleeps late, plays with his sword, and takes nothing seriously. The Sages were fools to name the weakling heir. He will be no threat. The Western soldiers will follow the prince they most respect. Once they see the prince regent on the field, they will gladly join him.” He then stretched out his hand. “Now, give me what we agreed adviser.” The assassin's tone turned deadly.

 

“Of course.” Grima said, “your payment.” He then stretched out his hand palm facing the assassin, and spoke unintelligible words.

 

“What are you...? Arrrrgh!” The assassin dropped to the ground and convulsed several times, his eyes rolling back up into his head. Blood began to dribble from his nostrils, and then the dark figure lay still.

 

“Disposing of a useless tool.” Grima said, lowering his hand. He then made a sweeping motion with his hand, as if he were swatting the air and the lifeless body threw itself as though swept off the dock and into the water. Grima whispered more words, and the corpse sank to the bottom.

 

He then calmly strode away from the docks as though nothing unusual had occurred, his mind buried deep in his thoughts. It had been easy enough to influence Talon. The pride and ambition were already there in their seed forms, he only needed to water and feed them with fear and a “righteous” justification. He was easier to control than Grima first believed him to be. Talon would see to it that his only real threats, Hyrule's Sages, were taken care of. He had never met Talon's brother, or his mother. From what he had learned of this world, he could not take the chance of them discovering who or what he was, so he had always remained behind to “look after things” while Talon had gone home for his little get togethers with the family. He had expected the assassin to remove them from the equation. As for Hyrule's “goddesses,” they would do nothing he was certain. The Others never do unless it might threaten their own plane of existence. The Hylians foolishly put their faith in the wrong beings. Everything had been planned out. Nothing should have been left to chance. Except the assassin wasn't as efficient as he had been told, and now he would have to orchestrate a military coup instead of a bloodless one. It was a nuisance he could have done without.

 

He returned quickly to his tent next to the prince-regent's so as not to be missed.

 

* * *

 

“I hate horses.” Rodney said to no one in particular. After a night spent camped in the guardsman’s barracks and a day's worth of riding, Daniel didn't blame him, but it was the only mode of transportation they had since they had been notified after they left the temple by the guardsmen in the Sacred Grove that Oliver had suspended all train service in Hyrule until further notice.

 

“It was either this or walk, Rodney.” Daniel said, for the third time since they left the Faron woods. The road south and east towards Mido Town had been strangely empty of any traffic save a few horse-carts headed north towards Rauru Town.

 

“I am sure they are none too fond of you either.” John quipped. Since the short time he had begun to know the strange men who were now his traveling companions, he wondered whatever endeared Rodney McKay to his father. The man seemed to complain constantly. Granted, his father did say that in his stories, but when he told the stories about him, it made everyone laugh. Now, John was mostly irritated by it. “You did not have to come with me.” He reminded him.

 

“And let you go off and commit suicide by yourself, no, I don't think so. Someone needs to be using their brains with this 'plan' of yours.” Rodney said derisively.

 

“I still haven't heard you suggest a better one.” John retorted.

 

“I'm still working on one.” Rodney said. “One that doesn't involve all three of us being used as target practice by a thousand soldiers.”

 

“That won't happen.” John said confidently.

 

“Not to take Rodney's side on this,” Daniel said, to which he got a dirty look from Rodney, “but why are you so certain that this will work?”

 

“Hylians are a people of faith, Doctor Jackson.” John told him. “It is that faith which sustains us and gives us the wisdom, power, and courage to fight our way through the darkest of times. After the princess Zelda, my aunt, and my father, the Hero left us, my mother ordered that all of what was known of their wisdom and courage would be written down and shared with all the people as a perpetual legacy for all of Hyrule. Thanks to my mother's efforts every Hylian today knows the 'legend of Zelda' and the stories of our goddesses and their battles against the chaos that repeatedly threatened our world. The faith of the Triforce, once almost unknown to all but the Sages and the royal family, has become an inspiration to us all, and there isn't a man in our military force who hasn't been told the stories of my father's courage throughout the ages in order to inspire them to feats of courage. There are few Hylians today who would not recognize my father's sword and what it means that I would carry it.”

 

“So your mother, her majesty, built a religion around your father and your aunt?” Daniel asked, intrigued and a little disturbed.

 

John phrased his answer carefully. “I would say that my mother gave back to our people the truth which had been kept from them for eons. And it is a truth which honors the gifts the goddesses of creation gave all of us as well as the sacrifices made by the Princess and the Hero. Din, Nayru, and Farore have always been our goddesses, and my aunt and my father have been working together to preserve Hyrule since the very beginnings of our civilization. Would you continue to hide the people's own history from them?”

 

“No, I suppose not.” Daniel said, considering his words.

 

“Yeah well I find the whole thing disturbing, and I think if Link and Zelda were here, they'd think so too.” Rodney chimed in. “Maybe there was a good reason for Zelda or Hylia keeping the whole thing to herself for millennia. Religions have a way of turning into the exact opposite of what their founders intended.”

 

“Rodney does have a point,” Daniel said. “Even the most peaceful religions in our world have been twisted to justify some pretty horrific atrocities. What happens when people start to demand that everyone venerates the Hero and the Princess? What happens to those people who just see them as inspiring stories but nothing more? Maybe Zelda kept it a secret because, in the middle of everything else that was happening, she didn't want Hyrule to be torn apart by competing faiths or ideologies.”

 

“Why would any rational person commit an atrocity in the name of a peaceful divinity?” John asked. “That is the most absurd thing I have ever heard.”

 

“Yeah well it happens more often that we'd like.” Rodney answered him. “The Ancients, your ancestors, had a rule that said they wouldn't interfere with people's free will, their ability to make their own choices. It was their most important rule. Making a religion out of them kind of skews that sideways, don't you think?”

 

“That is a good rule.” John agreed, “No one is forcing anyone to follow or believe in the goddesses, the Triforce, or the Princess and the Hero, Doctor McKay. But perhaps, if we all survive this, I should ensure that no one ever does. Perhaps we can learn from my aunt's wisdom yet again.”

 

“So, how much farther to Mido? It seemed a lot shorter of a distance by train.” Daniel asked.

 

“Not much farther. We'll have to either find an inn along the road, or make camp somewhere tonight. After that we should reach the coast by mid-day if we can start out again in the morning by sunrise.” John said.

 

“I vote for the inn.” Rodney said. “And a hot meal.”

 

“It's been a while, but I think there used to be one not much farther up ahead.” John told him, pointing down the road east. “We'll see if they've got rooms for the night.”


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

 

It was late afternoon and the sun was just beginning to dip down towards the mountains in the west. Oliver sat astride his old, white war stallion, Firefight, as he watched the columns of men march down the main road. He had been a trusted companion to Hyrule's chief general for almost two decades, though neither of them had seen much actual combat on the field recently. For that matter, neither had the men in the gray uniforms and chain-mail in front of him. He would stake his life on their ability just from their training, and he was doing just that, but none of them knew what war was truly like, or what they could be walking into. Every man in front of him knew someone or had friends in the Eastern legions. He would be asking them to fire on those friends if it came to it. “What do you think, boy?” He patted his horse on the side of his neck, “Will they do it if it comes down to that?”

 

Firefight seemed to study the troops as well, and then snorted in response.

 

“That's my fear too.” Oliver replied.

 

The legion had marched from Hyrule castle the morning after John and the two other men had departed on their more clandestine mission. Their had been no change with the queen, but four more ministers had convulsed and died. Only the prime minister, the foreign minister, and the minister of transportation remained alive besides her majesty. Oliver held out hope that their deaths were in direct proportion to how much they had eaten the morning before. Her majesty had only had the one cup of tea. The men who had died were not so abstinent with their breakfast.

 

“Sir,” Oliver's lieutenant aide, who pulled up next to him on his own roan horse, addressed him, “the forward regiments report that they have reached the staging area for the night. Scouts in Mido report no landing as of yet. Our whole force should make Mido by tomorrow morning.”

 

“Has there been any word from Prince John?” Oliver asked, hopefully.

 

“None sir.” The aide then said, “If I might ask, sir, is he expected to join us tonight with more reinforcements?”

 

Oliver thought about how to answer the younger officer's question, then said, “The crown prince's mission is for he and I to know alone.” The fewer people that know the plan, the fewer people will accuse us both of insanity if we survive this, he thought. “But let us pray to the goddesses that he is successful, for all our sakes.”

 

“Very good, sir.” The lieutenant responded, and then moved off towards the rear regiments to gather the reports from their officers.

 

He asked himself again and again, would her majesty have approved of her son's plan? Had he failed her in protecting her son? Had he failed her in training her other son in the right way?

 

His heart was torn for John and Talon. With the two boys, her majesty, and all of Hyrule for that matter, to look after, Oliver had never married. There might have been a time, and a maiden he had courted, when that might have been possible. But then the Hero gave his life, and the princess was slain and the whole world was torn apart and turned upside down in a single day it seemed, and his life changed forever upon meeting his old commanding officer from his youth. He couldn't, and wouldn't, ask those sacrifices of the young woman.

 

He had never had his own children, but the young princes had been as dear to him as though they were his own as he watched them grow. They were not his sons, but he tried his best to honor their father by filling the role left vacant with the Hero's death in the best way he knew how. Where his queen was concerned... He would be forever hers, but she never his. He knew he held the closest position to her of anyone in the kingdom, but her heart was not for him. He did not question it, but resolved to only be there at her service whenever she needed him in any capacity. It was his duty, his honor, and his love for all of them. He honestly could not imagine anything short of witchcraft or evil sorcery on the order of the demon king of old which could have so torn “his” family apart, the family he loved most in the world. The thought of having to fight Talon... His eyes, already red from his queen's deathly sleep, began to water once more.

 

“I am sorry for this, Hero,” he said out loud, wondering if somewhere, somehow Link might hear him. “I did the best I could with them, but I wasn't you. I don't know where or what you may be now. But if you can hear me, please help them. Both of them. They need your guidance now.”

 

A warm gust of wind blew unexpectedly across the road where it had been dead calm all day before that. Taking notice of it, Oliver quietly nodded in acknowledgment.

 

* * *

 

The Hylian Sea pitched and tossed the steam powered troop transports back and forth as they slowly made their way across the normally calm channel between Hyrule's two halves. Talon had been in a large cabin commandeered for his personal use, attempting to sleep in an increasingly wildly swinging hammock, but there was no use. There was to be no rest for him that night. He lay awake, eyes shut tight in futility, angry and irritable.

 

“Talon...” He heard a breathy voice whisper. Talon's eyes flew open. His cabin had been locked from the inside. “Talon...” The voice called him again, and he jumped out of the hammock and onto his feet. The vessel pitched to the side at just that moment, so he landed wrong nearly twisting his ankle. “What?!” He shouted in pain into the darkness. “Who dares invade the prince-regent's cabin?!”

 

“Talon...” The voice said again, from behind him. The prince spun around to face his burglar to find a shadowy, dark figure wearing a very dark, almost black, green tunic over chain mail and dark leather gauntlets. The figure's face was obscured in shadow. His eyes glowed red.

 

“What do you want from me, demon!” Talon said, lunging for his sword which hung in its scabbard on the wall.

 

“Don't draw your sword unless you are prepared to use it.” The shade said, deadly menace edging every word.

 

Talon drew his hand back, sensing his danger. “What do you want?” He asked again, more warily than before.

 

The figure said nothing, but just stared at him. No, Talon sensed he wasn't staring at him, he was staring into him, into his very soul and being, searching... but searching for what?

 

“There is a poison which has seeped into Hyrule.” The shade finally said. “Only you can stop it from destroying this land.”

 

“I already know all about it. My armies cross the Hylian Sea to put an end to it.” Talon told him. “You need not fear. I will see the Hylian royal family restored to their proper place.”

 

“Fool!” The shade spat bitterly at the prince. “You cannot fight poison with armies! It must be rooted out and cured! You must bring the three forces into balance to heal our people!”

 

“I don't understand.” Talon said.

 

“That is obvious.” The shadow returned, and then said sternly, “I can see the good seeds there struggling to grow within you, but there are weeds, boy, strangling them and choking the life out of them. You have to find the power, wisdom, and courage within yourself to cut them out. Only then can you truly bring healing to our land.”

 

“What must I do?” Talon asked calmly.

 

“Turn back, and govern your people in your rightful place.” The shadow warned.

 

“Turn back? How can I govern the people in my rightful place if I don't first put an end to the conspiring Sages?” Talon asked, hostility dripping from his words. “This poison you speak of must be cut out at its source! We will raze all of the temples to the ground, bring the Sages to justice, and Hyrule will start fresh in the new age my mother envisioned!”

 

“So you choose power then? Over everything else?” The shadow asked with sorrow.

 

“Only the power to do good! To drive back the poison and abolish it forever!” Talon said triumphantly.

 

“Beware, boy!” The shade commanded, angry authority radiating from him, “Throw the three forces out of balance, and all of Hyrule is thrown out of balance!”

 

“I've had enough of you, shade. Be gone!” Talon shouted, unwilling to hear any more.

 

The shadow figure faded. As he did so, a whispered voice said, “Good bye my son, I fear I have lost you forever.”

 

But Talon did not hear it. He had stopped listening.

 

* * *

 

John had taken the first watch that night on the hills overlooking the beach where he knew his brother would land Eastern Hyrule's forces. He knew Oliver's legions would be at least a day's march behind he, Rodney, and Daniel; perhaps two. The weight of all of those Hylian lives lay heavy on his heart. Either he succeeded in his plan, or Hyrule would plunge into chaos again.

 

The two men from Earth were fast asleep on the sandy hill. Rodney snored louder than John was comfortable with, but there was nothing for it. The man was brave in his own way, but he was a thinker, not a fighter, John thought. Their fire had died low, but the night air was not uncomfortably cold.

 

John saw a flash of movement off to the side of their makeshift beach camp and he trained his eyes on it, but there was nothing there. He stood up to get a better view of the surrounding land. He then heard a whispered, strangely familiar male voice call out, “John.” Turning his head this way and that, he spotted a lone, dark figure in the shadows less than twenty feet from where he stood. Before John could wake the other men, the figure held up his left hand palm out, and with his right he put his finger to his lips. John nodded his understanding. The figure then beckoned him with his hand to join him away from where the others might hear and see, and turning to go, John followed him sensing that this strange meeting was for him alone.

 

When they had gotten far enough away, the shadow figure turned to face John. Even close up, the figure's face could not be clearly seen, but there was something familiar in it that he recognized, and even trusted. The figure wore a very dark green tunic and chain mail that seemed to blend in with the night's shadows around them. A Hylian sword and shield appeared from nowhere in the figure's hands.

 

“Defend yourself!” The dark figure before John commanded.

 

John instinctively brought his shield up and the Master Sword leaped into his hand without conscious thought as his muscles had been conditioned to do by the sword masters all of his life. John had been raised with a sword in his hand for as long as he could remember. His father had been the first man to press real blades into his and his brother's hands. By the time he was five, when his father has passed on, he and his brother both has mastered all of the basic forms and movements of swordplay. His mother had insisted on them having the best swordsmen in Hyrule come and train her sons after the Hero's self-sacrifice. Now, his own movements were done without conscious thought at all.

 

“Who are you?” John asked.

 

The shadow didn't answer, but faster than John could see or think he attacked forcefully with an overhead strike. John's shield went up instinctively to block it before his mind could process the action. He then brought his sword around in a tightly controlled but fierce slash.

 

His opponent quickly danced out of the way, spinning around to bring his own sword to sever John's head from his neck. John rolled forward and around the sword wielding shade striking at his back, the shade only blocking the Sacred Blade's bite by a fraction of a second, and returning his own strike in a sweeping arc that should have disemboweled the prince, but didn't. They continued silently trading fierce blows in the attempt to relieve the other combatant of his mortality. The only sound was the ringing and clashing of sword upon sword and shield. They moved faster and faster in the deadly dance until the shadow swordsman called out “Enough!” And they both froze, the edges of their swords pressed against each other's throats.

 

“You've learned well.” The shadow swordsman said calmly as he drew his blade slowly away and sheathed it. “As well as any I've ever trained.”

 

“I had good teachers.” John replied, breathing harder than he cared to admit, as the Master Sword returned to its sheath. “And a good sword.”

 

“A sword wields no strength unless the hand that holds it has courage.” The shadow told him. “You hold the Sacred Blade, but do you have the courage to wield it?”

 

“Let's go another round and we will discover the answer together!” John responded.

 

The shadow warrior held up his hand palm facing John, and said, “Hold. You will need your courage, young prince, in the trial that lies ahead of you. You will need the wisdom to know who your enemy truly is. And you will need the power to defend our people from that enemy.”

 

“And who is my true enemy, sword master?” John asked.

 

“The one who poisons the hearts of our people.” He answered. “Power, wisdom, and courage united by sacrificial love. This is the practice of our faith, young prince. The faith of our ancestors was in allowing each person to choose his own path and destiny without interference or enslavement. This is why the goddesses created the Triforce, so that we would have the means to remain free to choose or reject them of our own free will. The Demon King never understood that, and neither did his 'descendents'. The enemy of our people is always the one who brings the Triforce out of balance in order to force others to his will.”

 

“Our brothers of Eastern Hyrule are not our enemies.” John said. “I don't want to shed their blood any more than I want to shed my brother's blood. I don't want this war.”

 

“Then put a stop to it.” The shadow said.

 

John had been asking himself that question for two days. It had been his plan, but the closer he came, the more he doubted it. “How?” He asked in frustration. “It is a task now that even the goddesses would find difficult. I carry my father's sword, but I am but a poor imitation. I do not carry the Triforce as my father and aunt did.” John replied.

 

“No one can use a part of the Triforce unless that virtue already exists within him. The power of the Triforce resides within the faith of the one who believes in it. Find this faith within yourself, and the power of the Triforce will be yours.” The shade told him.

 

John nodded, trying to understand. “I am not my father, but I am my father's son. He gave his life for our people and our land, I am prepared to do no less.”

 

John then found himself frozen in place as the shade approached him to gently place his palm on John's forehead. There was a brief flash of light, and the shade was gone. On the wind, John could still hear the shadow's voice, “You have taken your rightful place, my son. Receive my blessing and go; be the Hero Hyrule needs.”

 

As John unfroze he looked down at himself and found that his royal traveling clothes had been exchanged for the same chain mail, leather gauntlets, and dark green tunic which the shadow had worn. On his head was a long green cap, the end of which fell behind his back. On his back, covering the Master Sword's sapphire scabbard there materialized an antique shield bearing the Triforce crest of the royal family. He recognized the garments and dress from his mother's pictures and stories of his father, and his eyes watered with tears.

 

“Goodbye, father.” John whispered into the wind, as a single tear fell from his eye.

 


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

 

The troop transports landed the next day at dawn. Daniel, Rodney, and John watched unseen from their vantage point on the beach hill for hours as thousands of men unloaded from tens of ships onto the beach to set up camp. It wasn't just men either. Horses, cannons, and other heavy weaponry were rolled off the boat ramps under the standard of Eastern Hyrule. Not far off in the distance, the Town of Mido was just awakening to their new reality.

 

“What are we going to do?” Rodney asked. “There's too many of them. No, what am I saying. There's more than way too many of them. Not for just the three of us. There's no chance. What were we thinking?”

 

Daniel shot Rodney a look, as John just continued to stare at the unloading men. John, not taking his eyes off of the troops in front of him, then said, “We didn't come here to fight the Eastern legions. We came here to stop the fighting before it starts.”

 

“And how did you propose to do that? Just go down and politely ask them to leave?” Rodney asked sarcastically.

 

“That's a great idea, Dr. McKay.” John said, unsheathing the Master Sword and taking his shield on his right arm. He then strode confidently down the hill towards the waiting soldiers.

 

“Oh god, what is he doing? Is he insane?” Rodney asked, panicking.

 

“No,” Daniel answered, “He's doing what his father would do.”

 

“Oh crap, he is crazy then.” Rodney retorted, as he watched the younger man stride purposefully, sword in hand, to meet the thousands of Eastern soldiers that had landed with artillery and cavalry horses on the beach of Western Hyrule.

 

A horn blew in the camp. “He's been seen.” Daniel said.

 

“Of course he's been seen!” Rodney said. “He's practically holding up a sign which says 'shoot me, I'm a lunatic!'”

 

Shouts went through the camp as the strange, green-clad figure came closer and closer. “It's the Hero!” Many of the blue uniformed soldiers shouted. “That's impossible, the Hero's dead!” Others shouted. “It looks like Prince Talon!” Still others said.

 

Talon was on the beach with his men when the report of the strange figure spread through the camp. Alarmed, he practically yelled, “Arrest the imposter!” Sending a guard captain and a small squad of men to carry out his orders.

 

As the squad of soldiers approached, John stopped assumed a fighting stance and held his ground. He then shouted out loud so the whole camp of thousands could hear him, “If protecting this land means donning our father's tunic, and taking up his sword and shield to stand against you and your army alone on the battlefield then so be it, brother. I am John, son of Link, crown prince of Hyrule, and I will defend this land and her people with my last breath.” He was hoping against hope to bring his brother back to his senses with the display, reminding him of their mutual heritage. If we do this, my brother, he thought to himself, it won't be the blood of monsters the Master Sword spills, but the precious blood of fellow Hylians.

 

“The sword chose you.” Talon said slowly, anger building in his voice. “Just like the Sages. Just like mother.” He then called out in response. “Stand against me and the whole of the East by yourself if you wish, brother. Father's old clothes and rusty sword won't keep me from what is rightfully mine. We will be sure however to give you a proper burial as befits a prince of Hyrule.”

 

John looked at the massed soldiers in front of him. He heard the murmuring of the troops at his brother's flippant response. He glimpsed the hesitation in their eyes at the sudden appearance of the Crown Prince wearing the Hero's tunic and wielding the sacred blade of evil's bane; the sword which answered to one man alone, the Hero of Hyrule. Among them, several hands went to pendants hidden under uniforms and chain-mail, and he could see the glints of gold as the men sought strength and guidance for the choice they were being forced to make.

 

John then called out to the legion of soldiers standing between himself and his brother and said, “Soldiers of Hyrule, hear me! See the sword I carry, the Master Sword of legend which has ever only answered to one man alone in all the ages of Hyrule past, my father, the Hero of Hyrule. See now that the sword of the goddess Hylia now answers to me and me alone. If I must fight you, I do so in the name of my father and the goddesses who forged this land. I do so to preserve a future and a hope for all of Hyrule's people just as my father did in every age of this land since the beginning. I don't want good, faithful Hylian blood to stain this Sacred blade or to be spilled on Hyrule's sacred ground. This quarrel is between my brother and I alone. Stand aside and let my brother and I resolve our dispute like men, and let all sons of Hyrule be at peace with one another.” John waited, holding his breath for their answer.

 

The soldiers, armored and armed with blades and rifles alike, looked to one another and then to their green clad prince before them, the choice being laid plainly before them. Among the ranks cries of “Hold your positions!” “Stand down!” and “The prince has given his orders!” could be heard from the officers. And then all of the Eastern soldiers, to a man, lowered their weapons and stood aside, creating a path for him directly to his brother.

 

“I don't believe it.” Rodney said, watching the whole thing. “They're letting him through. His plan's actually working!”

 

“Never underestimate the power of faith.” Daniel commented.

 

“I guess not!” Rodney agreed, stunned at what he was seeing.

 

The squad of men sent to arrest him stopped in front of him. “As you say, your highness,” the Guard Captain closest to John said, “It's a quarrel between you and Prince Talon.” He then saluted John, and then turning to give a crisp salute to Talon, he stepped aside and let John pass.

 

John strode purposefully to the confrontation he did not want with his twin brother, ranks of Hylian men saluting him grimly as he passed by.

 

“How dare you wear our father's clothes!” Talon screamed at his brother as he approached. “You who poisoned our mother! She lies near death because of you, while you prance around pretending to be the Hero!”

 

“I swear to you on the Sacred Triforce itself, I have done nothing to harm our mother.” John responded loudly as he drew nearer to his brother. “The poison was not administered by me or anyone from the Royal Castle, Talon.”

 

“He lies, my prince!” Grima shouted. “He lies! He intends to take the throne over your mother's grave and bury you next to her!”

 

“Talon, look at me!” John cried out, drawing near and nearer to his brother. “Look at me, my brother. Look into my eyes and know the truth. I have never lied to you. I could not lie to you. You know my very heart and mind as if they were your own. We are two halves of the same person, are we not?”

 

“No,” Talon paused, “No, my brother would never lie to me.” He said, almost as if in a daze.

 

“Who's to say this man is even your brother, your highness? Are there no shape-shifters in your land?” Grima shouted, almost desperately. “Whoever this imposter is, he is no family of yours!”

 

“No family of mine...” Talon repeated, slurring his words. “Yes, imposter, you are no family of mine!”

 

“Look at my sword, brother. The Master Sword would never allow herself to be handled by any other but the chosen Hero or the Princess Zelda. No imposter could touch it.” John tried to reason with him as he came to stand in front of his brother.

 

Talon drew his own sword. “A clever forgery, imposter.” He said with malice, and charged John with his own dark blade.

 

John parried and jumped back.

 

“I was trained by my father, the Hero of Hyrule himself as a boy, imposter.” Talon warned him. “You will face justice.” He then struck with a flurry of slashing blows, all of which John caught and turned back, but he held back.

 

“I don't want to hurt you, my brother, please. Let's stop this madness now. There is only one death that is necessary today.” John pleaded with him as the two blades clashed and sang their deadly duet.

 

“Yes, only one death! Yours!” Talon shouted. The two swordsmen moved like lightning back and forth across the sand, faster than the eyes of the men who watched the conflict could follow, but John refused to go on the offense. He had fought his brother frequently in mock swordplay as a child, and later in life during private sparring times as friends and equals. He instinctively knew his brother's every movement. They were so evenly matched through their lives that neither had ever been able to defeat the other. That was never the point of their sparring. John knew going on the offense would help no one and nothing now.

 

“Come now, _brother_ ,” Talon spat the word sarcastically, “if you really are my brother, why don't you press your attack? As you said, only one needs to die today.”

 

“No.” John shouted, then avoided his brother's spin attack.

 

“There can only be one rightful heir! I am the oldest! It should go to me, and you know it!” Talon shouted at him, cackling as though drunk.

 

“I never wanted it!” John responded. “I never wanted the throne! The decision wasn't mine to make, nor was it yours!”

 

“No, the thrice-damned Sages took my birthright from me instead, didn't they?” Talon yelled back.

 

John then stopped, deflected his brother's blow on his shield forcing talon backwards, and shouted, “Then I give it back to you brother. Let the Master Sword decide between us who is truly the Hero's heir!” And he turned his sword around in his hands and offered the hilt to the enraged man in front of him. “Take it brother, and may the goddesses judge between you and I.”

 

Talon stopped dead in his tracks, unsure of what to do. “You would offer me our father's sword?” He asked in disbelief.

 

“If I am an imposter, and this a forgery, then run me through and save our land. If I am truly your brother, and this is truly the Sacred Blade, then let the goddesses decide between us. Take the hilt, my brother.” John said, pouring as much sincerity into his voice as possible. He meant what he said, and now it was Fi's choice to make. If he was wrong, it would be his last moments and he knew it.

 

“What is he doing?” Rodney panicked as he watched John's offer helplessly. “Oh crap, they're identical twins. They've got the same DNA, the sword's going to think it's the same man. We've got to stop him!” He began to jump up when Daniel pulled him back down before he was seen by anyone else.

 

“Some things you've just got to take on faith, Rodney!” Daniel told him, trying to keep him from interfering. It was John's choice, and Daniel somehow knew that he had to be given the freedom to make it.

 

“What?!” Rodney exclaimed, “This isn't about some pie in the sky mambo jumbo! The sword's A.I. is a computer program, Jackson! Fundamentally it understands ones and zeros. Either something is, or it is not. Talon's DNA is the same as John's, ergo once Talon takes that sword, Fi's going to say, 'Hi John, happy to see you!' and Talon's going to happily take off John's head with it!”

 

“It's too late anyway, look!” Daniel said, pointing to the scene in front of them.

 

Warily, Talon approached his brother, and extended his left hand to take the sapphire hilt. It felt warm from his brother's grip, but also like it had been made for his hand. He held the blade up, pointing it to the sky, and said, “Now indeed, let the gods judge between us truly.”

 

The air around the blade began to crackle with energy which built up in the blade's metal as a white glowing charge, and the hilt began to grow hotter and hotter, until it became unbearably hot, but Talon could not let the sword go! A strange woman's voice rang out loudly and strongly, “Recognition rejected! Identity unrecognized!”

 

“I am Talon, son of Link!” Talon cried out to the disembodied voice! “I am the rightful heir of Hyrule!”

 

“Imposter.” The voice said with a deadly calm, and a great surge of energy rushed from the blade, through the hilt and into Talon's sword arm which erupted into white hot flames. The smell of burnt flesh filled the air as his screams were heard all around the beach. His fingers melted and burned away under the heat, and the sword finally fell from his grasp and buried its blade in the beach sand. Talon fell to the ground unconscious from the pain. His left arm destroyed into a ruined, blackened flesh and bone stump unable to ever wield a sword, or anything, ever again.

 

“I don't believe it.” Rodney said. Daniel stayed silent, not wishing to destroy the sanctity of the moment.

 

“The Master Sword has judged between us brother.” John whispered softly to his brother's unconscious form, as his own fingers closed around the sapphire hilt. “And she has found you unworthy. Be glad that she has chosen to spare your life for your crimes against Hyrule.”

 

John then took the hilt of the sword again and turned to the silver haired old man who stood nearby watching the duel intently. He was strangely smiling at John, an evil glint in his eyes.

 

“Hey Danny, doesn't that old man look familiar?” Rodney asked, gesturing to Grima as John stood before him, sword in hand.

 

Daniel focused his eyes on the silver bearded and haired gentleman. “Yeah he does, doesn't he; a lot like...”

 

Rodney picked up it up from there, “I mean he's not exactly Christopher Lee, but he's pretty darn close. He's the exact description in the book.”

 

“Yeah, the question is...” Daniel started.

 

“How?” Rodney finished. “I mean, he's supposed to be...”

 

“Dead in Hobbiton under a waterwheel. Yeah I know Rodney. I read the book too.” Daniel finished, and then began to think hard and out loud on what he was seeing. “He was one of the five wizards of Middle Earth, right? The Istari. They were Ainur, ascended beings, who took the forms of old men in order to guide mankind, right?” Daniel asked, thinking out loud.

 

“Yeah, so when he died... Oh no.” Rodney thought it through. “But then why did he retake human form?”

 

“Maybe the Others in Middle Earth wouldn't allow him back.” Daniel said, his mind whirring quickly.

 

“And so he retook mortal form as a wizard. Oh crap, John doesn't know what he's up against.” Rodney said. “He's dead.”

 

“No. I don't think so.” Daniel said, watching the scene in front of him, his left hand going to the triangle shape under his shirt.

 

In the distance, John stood in front of his enemy, sword and shield in his hands. His brother Talon lay unconscious and unresponsive to his side and behind him as John stepped between he and the old man.

 

“You have no idea who or what I am, do you boy?” Grima's eyes flashed and crackled with power. “With a word I could strike you down and scatter your ashes to the four winds. Why throw your life away needlessly? Bow to me as your god!”

 

“I will stand against you with my last breath.” John told him, disgusted. “You are not welcome here, wizard.”

 

“Wizard,” The old man responded. “How quaint; an archaic title from a backwards people. I am so much more than that.” Grima raised his hands and lightning struck the ground around them. The smell of ionized air filled the beach around them. Great winds rose in vortexes across the water behind him. “You're out of your league, boy.” The wizard then raised his hand and began to point a finger at John. “Even if you succeeded in striking me down with that blade, I would become more powerful than you could possibly imagine. I would continue to come back and haunt you and your descendants forever.”

 

Daniel watching all of this saw and knew that the time had come. “Great goddesses,” He called out, gripping the Triforce pendant tightly in his hand and focusing all of his faith on this one prayer. “I wish that Grima Saruman would be made completely mortal and his power taken from him!” The triangle on Daniel's hand lit up with a bright golden light.

 

“Danny, what the...?!” Rodney exclaimed in surprise.

 

Immediately there was a great flash of light and the skies above them shook. Then the vortexes died, and the lightning ceased. And it was terror, not power which flashed in his eyes. “Noooo!” He shouted. “That's impossible!” And fell to his knees in front of John.

 

“Nothing is impossible for those who have faith, traitor.” John said. “I, John, son of Link, crown prince of Hyrule judge you in the name of the goddess Hylia for the crimes of treason, murder of royal ministers, and the attempted murder of her royal majesty, my mother, and her other royal ministers. The sentence is death. Hyrule will not go back to the cycle of chaos ever again.” And with that, John swung the Blade of Evil's bane and Grima's head fell from his shoulders. His body fell over, jerked involuntarily and lay still. It did not disappear into energy. It simply lay there, bleeding on the beach.

 

“You had one the whole time?!” Rodney accused Daniel in a barely contained whisper. “Son of a...”

 

“Not now, Rodney! This isn't the time!” Daniel shot back.

 

John then turned to face the legions of blue uniformed men standing watching with awe on the beach. He raised the Master Sword skyward and it began to glow with a pure, divine light. He then shouted with authority to the men, “In the name of the goddesses of creation, Din, Nayru, and Farore, and the Lady Hylia I order you to disarm and stand down!” A bolt of lightning struck the sand of the beach as he pronounced each divine name.

 

Rodney looked at Daniel questioningly. Daniel then told him, “Don't look at me, I didn't do it.”

 

The men in front of him looked with amazement and confusion at the sight, still gripping their weapons. Some called out to their captains, “What do we do?”

 

John then pointed the tip of the blade at the beach in front of them and shouted again, louder, “DISARM AND STAND DOWN!” And a wave of pure light hit the ground and the whole earth trembled underneath them.

 

All over the beach could be heard the sound of rifles, swords, and shields hitting the soft sand as the men soon joined their weapons, falling to their knees before their rightful prince. It was over.

 

* * *

 

It was night in Hyrule Castle as the queen's maids kept watch over their beloved monarch in her private bedchambers. Castle Guard lined the hall outside the chambers, and no less than six stood watch inside, their hearts heavy with sorrow as they were forced to watch Malon's deathly sleep, yet always hoping for a miracle.

 

The room remained dimly lit. The queen had been laid out on her bed, dressed with respect comfortably in a modest nightgown. Her flame colored hair, now flecked with thin streaks of silver had been brushed and lay flat beneath her. She appeared as though she could awaken at any moment, yet all present knew she had been asleep for days.

 

In the shadows, a dark figure watched the scene with concern. He had been watching over her for a long time. He moved out of the shadows to stand by her bed. None of the others in the room reacted to his presence. It wasn't strange to him, he didn't want them to know he was there.

 

He bent over her sleeping form, and said gently, “Malon, my love. You will join me one day, this I promise. But it is not this day. It is time for you to wake up.” He then bent down and gently pressed his shadowy lips to hers.

 

Time stood still as Malon's eyes slowly blinked open, and the first thing she saw was the radiant, shining, smiling face of her husband. “Link?” She asked. “My husband?”

 

“I am here my love.” He answered gently, looking down on her with love in his eyes.

 

“Will you stay with me?” She asked.

 

“I am always watching over you. Even when you can't see me, I am with you always.” The ascended being answered her.

 

Time sped up again as she moved her head from side to side. “My lady!” One of her maids cried out, and her bed was mobbed by her maids and guards. “Your majesty, you're awake!”

 

“Yes, I...” She then looked around. “What are you all doing in my chambers?” She asked in confusion.

 

“Our apologies your majesty, we have been keeping watch over you as you slept.” One of the guardsmen told her, relief flooding his voice.

 

“As I slept?” She asked. “How long have I been asleep?”

 

“Three days, your majesty.” One of the maids responded. “We were terrified you might never wake up.”

 

“I might...” She sat up and looked around the room for the face she first saw. And there he was, shining with a soft golden light around him. He held up his hand to his mouth and blew her a kiss, and then vanished. She nodded in silent acknowledgment.

 

“What has happened?” She asked those around her. “Where is my son, and... and Oliver?”

 

* * *

 

Oliver's three legions arrived at the landing beach near Mido Town the next morning to find John in complete and total control over a disarmed Eastern army. The Supreme Commander almost couldn't believe what his eyes were telling him through his field telescope. He still couldn't believe it when his scouts returned confirming the sight. Only when he had marched onto the beach himself and saw all the blue uniformed men snap to attention in formation at his arrival did the reality of the situation become clear.

 

Most of their weapons had been voluntarily stored in an armory tent, with a few exceptions.

 

Talon lay unconscious in a healer's tent under heavy guard, being treated for the severe damage to his arm by a field medic the best the medic could do.

 

Rodney and Daniel assisted John wherever they could, but there wasn't much they needed to do. Once the soldiers had surrendered to the prince, they had reaffirmed their oaths of loyalty to the Queen and the Hylian royal family. Most of them had been much relieved and took them once again gladly.


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25

 

The gathering in the Temple of Time was grim and solemn. Two weeks had passed since the events on the beach. All the present Sages of Hyrule had been called together to render a decision on the fate of the young, crippled man who stood silently before them in the timeless sacred place. Chief among them were the Sage of Wind and the Sage of Earth whom he had personally targeted. The only others allowed to be present were his brother, the crown prince, and Queen Malon herself, recently recovered from the poison which had nearly killed her. In the background, the Master Sword rested once again in its pedestal, its own mission accomplished. The last time he had stood in a great temple of Hyrule, the throne had been denied him. Today, he would learn if his life would be as well.

 

“Talon, former prince regent of Eastern Hyrule,” Aurina, the Sage of Light emphasized the word _former_ , began to say, “You have been judged guilty of atrocious crimes against the Sages of Hyrule, and against the gods themselves in the destruction of their temples.”

 

The Queen and the Crown Prince stood by in stony silence as witnesses only. Malon's son was not the cause of her poisoning, as they had come to learn, and there was good reason to believe he had been under the sorcerous influence of his former adviser in those crimes against her person and her government, which adviser had already been judged and publicly executed by the Crown Prince. But she had no authority to pardon his crimes against the divine, nor would she claim any right to it.

 

“You have accused us of manipulating the royal succession for our own personal gain, and in your ignorance of who we are and what our role in this world is, sought to subject us to your 'justice.'” Aurina continued.

 

“The future of Hyrule's monarchy shouldn't be determined by her Sages! What right do the Sages have to shape Hyrule for their own purposes!” Talon said bitterly.

 

The feminine, silver haired Sage of Spirit spoke. “You show your ignorance with every word you speak. For millennia, the Sages were unknown and largely forgotten by the people of this world. As our brothers and sisters from ages past would testify were they brought here by the Sage of Time, our only purpose has been our devotion to the gods we serve and to guard the Sacred Realm. We did not ask to be made widely known to the people. This was the decision of the royal family. We did not ask to intervene in the selection of the royal heir. We did so at the request of her majesty, inquiring of Hyrule's divinities to let us know their choice. All people in Hyrule must be free to make their own choice to follow the pathways of our ancestral gods or not. We do not interfere with that decision.”

 

“So, then who are you to pass judgment on me? Isn't that interfering as well?” Talon asked, mocking.

 

“We have only told you the verdict. We are not your judges.” The Sage of Wind informed him gravely.

 

“Who then?” Talon asked, confused and looking to his mother and brother. They sadly shook their heads.

 

“We are.” A familiar, resonating voice filled the great hall of the temple. It was a voice Talon had not heard in a very long time. Two swirling clouds of light materialized within the great hall and took forms he had never thought to see again. One was a young Hylian woman in a pink dress with long flowing blond hair and blue eyes. The other was a young man, almost identical to himself, dressed in a green tunic and chain mail. They both were radiant with a celestial light.

 

At their appearance all of the sages dropped to one knee. Queen Malon, and Prince John followed suit. “Lady Hylia.” Aurina said, addressing the glowing lady, and then to the man, “Lord Hero.”

 

“Father?” Talon asked, his mocking tone and flippancy melting away.

 

The Hero looked at his son sternly with disapproval. Talon flinched and dropped his eyes, sinking to his knees in despair. “I... I... I didn't...” He began to stammer, tears forming in his eyes.

 

“You didn't listen to me.” The Hero spoke, his voice echoing hard around the chamber. “You could not recognize me when I spoke to you though you were right in front of me.”

 

“You have been judged guilty of crimes worthy of death.” The Lady Hylia affirmed for him again, her own voice striking like musical daggers through his heart. “The dark poison of ambition, arrogance, and pride still runs through your heart, your prince. We cannot allow you to continue to walk freely in this world until it dies of its own accord, or else we risk restarting the same cycle of destruction which had only recently ended.”

 

“Let me die then.” Talon said in despair, his will broken under his father's gaze.

 

“In spite of your crimes,” Hylia continued, “we understand that had the sorcerer from Middle Earth not influenced you, none of this would have happened.” She then looked at the Hero, who nodded in unspoken agreement with her. “We therefore banish you from setting foot in Hyrule ever again until you understand the foolishness of your accusations against the Sages, and the gravity of your actions.”

 

“To where am I to be banished, my Lady?” Talon asked, wondering if he was to leave Hyrule with the two men from Earth he had heard of.

 

“Right here.” The Hero responded for her. “My son, you will not re-enter normal time outside of this temple until you have proved yourself worthy. If you attempt it, you will die.”

 

“The Temple is to be my prison?” Talon asked, confused. “For eternity?”

 

“It is to be your refuge, and your penance.” Hylia replied. She then moved towards him and touched his forehead with her finger, “Awaken, Sage of Time!” There was a brilliant flash of light, and then it was done. With him Talon felt his awareness expanding as he saw the past, present, and future come together as one. In his mind's eye he could see all the Sages that ever lived. He could see the many lifetimes that his father and aunt had lived, and all the trials and dangers they had suffered through. He could see the Demon King in the distant past and the recent present, and he was ashamed of how badly mistaken he had been.

 

“Since you have shown such ignorance of the Sages, my nephew, you will now spend eternity learning what it means to be my Sage. You will answer directly to me.” The Lady Hylia declared.

 

Talon was overwhelmed with shame and grief, and couldn't speak for several minutes. When he finally could, he bowed his head, and with a gravelly voice he said, “Yes, my lady.”

 

“Take your place among your brethren.” Hylia commanded, directing him to join the other Sages. “You have much to learn from them.”

 

Talon meekly moved to join them. They did not welcome him among their ranks, but neither would they deny him his new found place. “I have much to atone for.” He said. No one argued.

 

Hylia then turned to the Hero and said gently, “Speak with her.” The Hero nodded and then motioned for Malon to join him a distance away from the ears of the others. She rose and followed him, leaving John by himself.

 

Hylia then turned to John and spoke to him privately. “You have done well, my nephew.”

 

“Thank you, my Lady.” John responded with his head bowed, not daring to look into her eyes.

 

“You must now forgive and leave your anger behind you.” She told him, seeing into his heart. “Your brother has suffered the consequences of his actions, and now pays the price for his betrayal. It may not seem like punishment to you, but through the lens of time he is already finding the burden almost more than he can bear. Justice can never be without compassion, Crown Prince. Justice without Compassion is not justice, but vengeance. You must understand this if you are to sit on the throne when your mother is passed.”

 

John nodded. “I understand.” He told her.

 

While Hylia spoke with John, the Hero spoke with the prince's mother.

 

“It seems you are continually saying goodbye to me.” Malon told him. “Perhaps you should just return with me, and we would not have to say goodbye.” She said playfully, but there was a glimmer of hopefulness in her eyes.

 

The Hero looked at her sadly and said, “My time in mortal form has been done for some time now. I cannot stay with you. You must live your life, Malon. Mine in this world is over.”

 

“I have no one else. I miss you terribly.” She told him, her own eyes welling with tears. “Please don't leave me again.”

 

“Oliver is a good man.” The Hero told her. “He has forsaken all others for twenty years to be by your side, and to be a father where I could not. But for this crisis, he wouldn't have left your side when you had fallen to the poison.”

 

“He's not the man I need.” She told him angrily.

 

“Only because you won't let him be.” He replied gently.

 

“I don't want to.” She responded. “I can't.” She almost pleaded with him. “I can't let you go.”

 

“You must. You are the Queen. John, Oliver, and all of Hyrule cannot move forward until you do.” He said.

 

“I didn't want this. I didn't want to be the Queen. I have only done what I could to keep you with me.” She told him.

 

“I am always watching over you, my love, but I am already gone. I cannot love you in the way you need. But there is one who can. Allow yourself to return his love. Allow yourself to heal.”

 

She wept. “I really couldn't keep you, could I? No matter how hard I tried fate was always against me, wasn't it?”

 

“My fate was written millennia before you were born. Your fate is what you choose it to be.” The Hero said. “Choose well, my love. You will not see me again.”

 

He then left her there and moved to join Hylia and faced his son, John, still dropped to one knee in homage.

 

“Rise, my son.” The Hero told him.

 

John lifted his head and obeyed, facing his father he looked into his eyes and saw pride written in them.

 

“You have proven yourself worthy of the title Hero, and have justified our decision to name you heir to the throne with your actions and willingness to sacrifice yourself to prevent the slaughter of thousands of our people.” The Hero said. “You have combined wisdom and courage within yourself and have shown the power to act on them. You have also demonstrated your great humility in returning the Master Sword to its resting place. If you should ever have need of her again, Fi will be at your disposal. The Lady Hylia and I have seen to it. From henceforth, in times of great crisis, she will answer only to you and your descendants whom we deem worthy. Do not abuse this gift of ours.”

 

“I won't, father.” John responded solemnly.

 

“Rule well and protect our people, my son.” The Hero said. “We now take our leave. We are always watching, but your choices will always be yours to make along with their consequences. Remember that well, my son.” And then their radiant forms collapsed again into balls of pure light, and they were gone.

 

* * *

 

Daniel wandered by himself around Castle Town's marketplace. He wanted some time by himself to just study and make notes of Hyrule's culture and people without the fate of a world hanging in the balance. He decided it wasn't as different from other descendants of Ancient settlements as he had first thought it would be.

 

As he passed by the fountain of the central square, he noticed a small sign hanging over the entryway of a storefront tucked away off into the corner of a building. The sign held a worn symbol of the Triforce, but no wording that he could discern. Thinking this was odd, he meandered over to investigate. No one else seemed to notice the shop was there as he turned the doorknob, found it unlocked, opened the door and walked inside.

 

Inside, the old decrepit shop held displays of jewelry on its wooden shelves, most notably gold Triforce pendants as he looked around. “Hello?” He called out.

 

A handsome, middle aged woman with long blond hair flecked with silver streaks in a blue dress came walking out from a back room. Near her right shoulder was pinned a simple brooch shaped like a golden triangle.

 

“Hi, I saw your sign outside, and I was just curious...” Daniel started to try to explain, then he looked into the woman's deep blue eyes. They were blue like the vast ocean. “I know you.” He said.

 

“Yes, you do.” She said, smiling. “You have done well, brother.”

 

“Thanks, I think.” Daniel responded.

 

“It is almost time for you and your friend to return home, to your own time and place. You have had the power to do so since we first met in Nabooru Town.” The woman said.

 

“Yeah, I was wondering about that. If Rodney and I go home, what's to stop us from using the Triforce to repair Hyrule's?” He asked.

 

“Nothing.” She answered with a smile.

 

“And then there will be three complete Triforces in our world.” Daniel continued.

 

“Yes, there will.” She confirmed for him. “Do you believe your people to be capable of handling the responsibility such power brings?”

 

Daniel didn't have to hesitate. “Not all of them. No. In fact it would be best if there wasn't a Triforce at all on Earth. The Others in our world are more than capable of policing there own and enforcing non-interference. We don't need to defend ourselves like that now. I know that first hand.”

 

“Yes,” She said. “When we first came to this reality, there were so very few of us, not really enough for a colony. We had only intended to conduct our research on the connections between faith and reality away from less approving eyes. We were already pre-ascendant then, though. This world was beautiful when we arrived.” Her eyes sparkled at the memory. “Our children think we created it, but of course we didn't. We only tweaked it here and there.”

 

“Why do you keep calling them your children?” Daniel asked.

 

“Because they are!” She said happily. “All the inhabitants of Hyrule are our children! I told you, there weren't enough of us to form a sustainable colony. There was myself, Din, Farore, Demise, my daughter Hylia, Farore's son Copulus and only a handful of others. We completed our research, but then found Atlantis under bombardment by the wraith. There was little point in all of us returning home permanently now was there? We eventually ascended here, but the world seemed so empty and so ripe for civilization and sentient beings. We engineered these people, especially the Hylians, but also the Zoras, the Gorons, the Gerudos, the Ordonians, the Minish, and all the rest to fill it with intelligent life.”

 

Her smile faded as she continued her story, “That was just before Demise began to crave their worship. My daughter Hylia fought him on our own plane, and then the fight came into this mortal world and nearly destroyed it. He had grown so powerful from the faith of his followers that it took all of us to seal him away, but the seal would not last forever, and we knew it. That was when we put our research to use here and created the Triforce so that the unascended would have a way to defend themselves against him and any others like him. But Hylia, my daughter, was afraid that wouldn't be enough once he broke free, so she surrendered herself to mortal Hylian form to watch over the seal, and be ready to use the Triforce herself if it became a necessity. As a Hylian, she could ascend again once her body died.”

 

“What about the Hero?” Daniel asked her.

 

“Copulus, Farore's son, watched over Hylia in her mortal form for centuries. She seemed so fragile, he feared that she wouldn't be strong enough on her own. After a time, he chose to be born as a Hylian as well to defend her and keep Demise restrained. He became our back-up plan, if you will. As often as they came close to death and ascended, they continued to take mortal Hylian form on their own so that Demise could never fully return.”

 

“Copulus.” Daniel said, thinking. Then it clicked. “Copulus is the Ancient word for 'Link.'”

 

Nayru nodded. “That boy lived many, many lifetimes, being born, dying, ascending, and then returning to protect my daughter and this world. After so many times, I shudder to think at what the horrors he has had to face over the millennia have done to him. He was free to not return. It was always his choice, as it was my daughter's. Thanks to your people, they have finally been set free from their vigil.”

 

Daniel stood silent, contemplating the great sacrifices that the two had made to protect this world over its ten thousand year history. It was unimaginable to him, and yet Link had never left Zelda behind. Not once. “Wow.” Was all he could say at the thought.

 

“And now we must go, and so must you, Daniel Jackson. I meant what I said about your returning to walk among us once again when the time was right. If the Others in your reality do not welcome you home, know that you will always be welcome here with us.” She said.

 

“Thank you. That means something to me.” He said in response. He then took off his glasses to clean them, and when he put them back on the shop was empty. Its dusty shelves hadn't been used for a long, long time.

 

“Good-bye then.” He said with a half smile.

 

* * *

 

The sun had set in Hyrule, and once again, Oliver sat quietly in the pew of the chapel, watching over his queen as she prayed. They had not spoken the entire day since she had returned from the Sacred Grove. He had spoken with John, but the crown prince would not discuss what had transpired in the Temple of Time. Oliver only knew that John's brother Talon had not returned with them. To be honest, he had not expected the prince to.

 

“I know you are there, Oliver.” The queen said, not getting up or turning to see him.

 

Uncomfortable and apologetic, “I'm sorry for disturbing you, your majesty, I'll go.” Oliver said, getting up.

 

“No, don't go.” She said, rising and turning to face him. She walked up to him and took his hands in hers. “I knew you were there, because you're always there. You've always been there, never far from my side.”

 

“I am your servant, my queen.” Oliver said, humbly.

 

“You have been much, much more than that, my friend.” She said. She looked into his eyes in a way she had never allowed herself to do before, smiled and asked him, “Do you love me, Oliver?”

 

Oliver took a step back, unsure of himself and dizzy from the question. “I... I...” He stammered. “You will always be my queen, your majesty.”

 

“That is not an answer, Oliver. I am asking you, not as your queen, but as a woman, and your friend. Do you love me?” She pressed him.

 

“I cannot... Your husband...” He didn't know how to answer her. His heart and mind warred against each other as the portrait of the Hero stared at him from its alcove. “I made a promise to him, to care for you and the boys.” He managed to say.

 

“I spoke to him, Oliver, in the Temple of Time, or rather he spoke to me. The Hero is always with us, but my husband has been gone for twenty years. Perhaps it is time that we both stopped confusing the two.” Malon told him, squeezing his hands. “We both must let go of the past in order to gain a future that is our own. Oliver, I ask you again, do you love me?”

 

There was a hopefulness in her eyes as he lost himself in them. It was a hopefulness he hadn't seen in a long time. And there was something else, something he himself had never allowed himself to hope for, an affection meant only for him. He wrestled with himself and two decades of careful, practiced restraint. She waited for his answer.

 

He took her hands in his, and brought them both to his lips and kissed her fingers, “My queen, do you even have to ask?” He finally replied.

 

She moved even closer to him, and in the shadows of the candlelight, under the blessing of Hyrule's guardian deities, they kissed, truly kissed for the first time. Unseen and unnoticed, a dark figure in the shadows, seemingly made of shadow, watched with approval, and smiled before fading away to join the Others who were waiting for him.

Epilogue

 

Rodney was almost singing the day after he and Daniel returned to their own time and place as he made his way back to the lab which had started their whole recent adventure. They had spent a total of about two weeks in Hyrule and had returned only minutes after they had left.

 

He was in such a good mood as he strolled down the corridors, he hadn't even criticized Zelenka for anything that morning. He now had not only the broken Triforce to work with, but also two, count them, two complete Triforces capable of doing anything he sincerely wished for.

 

He rounded a corner and waved his hand in front of the lab's door to open it and enter the room. As he almost danced into the room, his mood immediately changed.

 

“Where is it?” He asked the air, because there was no one else there to ask. Much to his dismay, the Triforce emblem which had been embedded into the wall was gone. He immediately went to work feeling all over the wall with his hands, even wishing fervently to find the Triforce as he touched the spot where he knew it should have been. Nothing.

 

“Where's Jackson?” He asked, beginning to grow suspicious. He touched his earpiece, “McKay to Jackson, where are you at?”

 

“Good morning, Rodney. I'm eating breakfast in the cafeteria.” Came Daniel's reply. “Where are you?”

 

“I'm in the Triforce lab, and there's something very important missing from the wall.” Rodney said, his ire growing.

 

“Are you sure you're in the right lab?” Daniel asked. “There's a lot of labs and rooms in this city. Are you sure you didn't get turned around?”

 

“What?! Of course I'm in the right lab, I mean, I... yeah, I'm positive...” Rodney then began to doubt himself. “I'll get back to you on that.” He said. Well, it could be possible, he thought. I could have gotten turned around maybe. He then went to retrace his steps and make certain.

 

* * *

 

“You know, he's going to eventually figure it out.” Colonel Shepherd told Daniel as he sipped his coffee across the table from him. They had agreed to meet for breakfast late last night to talk over the mutual responsibility they held.

 

“Maybe, but I made a very specific wish.” Daniel responded. “Speaking of which, are you sure you're okay with this. It was entrusted to you.”

 

“I never wanted it. It's too much power to be given to any one person. That's the reason why Hyrule had all the wars it did, even without Demise's influence. Can you imagine what would happen here on Earth. We've got enough of our own problems. No, just fix it and send it back to where it belongs.” Shepherd told him. “Lock it away in the Sacred Realm where no one will be able to touch it.”

 

Daniel reached into his shirt with his left hand to touch his gold pendant. There was a quick flash of light all around him which no one else seemed to notice. Then the triangle “tattoo” which had been imprinted on Shepherd's hand changed as he watched it. The three triangles, the topmost of which had been black for the last year, the two which formed the base gold, began to shine with light. And then the black one changed slowly until it shone bright gold. Then, the tattoo faded and disappeared. Shepherd looked at his hand until it was gone completely, and then nodded at Daniel. “Now, what about the necklace?”

 

Daniel took the gold chain and triangle pendant off from around his neck and, holding it in his hand, closed his eyes. There was another flash of light, and the pendant disappeared completely as though it was never there.

 

“That's done then.” Shepherd said. “Where'd you send that one?” He asked.

 

“Back to the nice old lady who gave it to me.” Daniel responded, taking a sip of his own coffee. “It was only a loaner anyway.”

 

“So, back to business as usual then?” Shepherd asked.

 

“Yep. Just as it should be.” Daniel replied. “Nothing unusual ever going on here.”

 

“Nope.” Shepherd agreed. “How long is Rodney going to search for that lab?”

 

“Oh, just for a few more hours until he completely forgets where it was. He won't find any reference to it in the database again either.” Daniel said.

 

“Nice.” Shepherd nodded approvingly. “So, was Malon doing okay by the time you left?”

 

“Yeah, I think they're all going to be just fine, now.” Daniel replied.

 

“So, tell me about how Link's family is doing. I've got all the time in the world today.” Shepherd said.

 

 


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26

 

Two hundred years after Talon’s exile...

 

“Well, let's see what's on the news today, shall we?” The seemingly young man announced to no one in particular as he flicked his one good hand towards the television monitor in front of him He then went to prepare his lunch of spiced pumpkin soup and a ham sandwich, all the while keeping both ears open for anything of note.

 

He lived alone, that much was clear, as his private living space within the expansive, gilded structure was about as disorganized as any bachelor could make it, and he received few visitors. There was a bed meant for a single person, a table and a few chairs, a kitchen area which had recently been updated with all the “modern” conveniences, and a few other furnishings which made it just livable. There was also the addition of the television monitor which he had received as a gift from the royal family some two or three decades ago when he discovered the outside world now used it extensively for news and entertainment.

 

Every so often, about once a month, a representative from Hyrule's royal family would visit to deliver supplies and keep him personally informed of the goings on in the outside world. These visits had been begun by his mother and brother, and they continued with his brother's children, and then grandchildren with the unusual surname of “Johnson” (that is, “John's son”) which had been adopted by his brother's son after he succeeded his father. Now, they were made by distant relatives of the current royal family who had been “honored” with the inherited task of seeing to his well being. He had not yet met the current king, or his traditionally named daughter, Zelda Johnson, though he had watched them on the television. Nevertheless, the visits were a kindness that he still appreciated, even after two hundred years of being unable to leave the confines of his “home.” His most recent visitor had been a ginger haired, elder Lady with kind eyes and a compassionate nature who reminded him very much of his queen mother in her later years. Lady Malona Johnson was her name, and she was his great-great-great-great-grand-neice.

 

As prisons went, he knew there were certainly worse. He could go anywhere inside the expansive temple, and he had. He had learned its secrets well, and over the years had learned to appreciate his penance serving as the Lady Hylia's Sage and temple guardian. But he could not leave it. That was the price for his foolishness and offenses against Hyrule's Sages and their gods centuries ago. He could never set foot in the rest of Hyrule again.

 

When it was necessary, the other Sages would visit him from time to time as well, though that had not happened in several decades. They were wary and distrustful of him to begin with, and a few openly questioned the Lady Hylia's judgment. He didn't blame them. He knew he would have reacted the same way for what he had done.

 

“The Princess Zelda has made a new proposal today to parliament...” The news broadcast began to say, and Talon turned his head to see the image on the screen of an attractive teenage girl with blue eyes and long blond hair. She was the spitting image of his long dead aunt, so much so that as he watched the girl grow up in front of the cameras he began to grow concerned.

 

But she was, after all, a descendant of Hyrule's royal family and it shouldn't have surprised him that someone in the line of descent would eventually resemble her. And the name Zelda was a traditional name for the crown princess. Since his brother, there had been no less than three Zeldas born to the Royal family, though admittedly none of them resembled _the_ Zelda like this one did. So far though, it was just this one girl who resembled his aunt. In two hundred years he had seen no trace of anyone who resembled his father, _the_ Hero.

 

He listened to the anchor ramble on about her equality proposals for non-Hylian citizens of the United Kingdoms of Hyrule. “It shouldn't even be necessary, now should it?” He told the television.

 

He remembered a time when no one would have questioned whether or not Gorons or Ordonians had the same level of intelligence or the same basic rights as Hylians. But things had changed. New and foolish ideas were spread far and wide. There was an explosion of thought and education around the time of his imprisonment with the development of the printing press. Some of those thoughts were worth teaching and sharing with the whole world, but there were many that would have been better left unprinted in his opinion.

 

The Princess Zelda was something of a champion against these poor and damaging ideas, and she was a staunch supporter of equal rights for all of Hyrule's people, not just those with high cheekbones and pointed ears. And she had a way with words that made people want to listen to her and consider them. So far, she had managed to keep the racist, extremist political parties where they belonged, on the fringes and in the minority. As her “too-many-greats-to-remember” grand uncle, he was proud of her and what she had been able to accomplish.

 

“In other news, there was a house fire in a local neighborhood in Ordonville today.” Talon brought his lunch over and placed it on the table and sat down to watch. Ordonville wasn't far from where the Temple of Time existed in space and time in its Sacred Grove in Hyrule. He watched the screen as flames leapt out of the upstairs window of what had been a nice, two story home in a rural neighborhood. He had just taken a spoonful of his soup when the news continued. “The local volunteer fire department was called out to put out the fire which nearly destroyed the home and almost cost the lives of the Finniels, a local family of five. They were miraculously saved by a courageous local teenager who, taking no thought for himself, plunged into the burning home and brought all of them out of the house safely.” An image of a dark blond, sixteen or seventeen year old Hylian boy carrying a two year old Ordonian girl out of a burning building came on the screen, his forest green shirt burned and blackened in several places. His face was displayed clearly and plainly on the screen as the report continued.

 

The hot soup which had been in his mouth blew across the table in a messy orange spray. On the television, a reporter quickly interviewed the “hero-boy.” “So, what made you just rush into the burning home?”

 

“I don't know. I didn't really think about it. I saw the smoke coming from the house as I was going to meet my uncle. I ran over to see what was happening and I heard Elsie screaming for help. The next thing I knew I was busting into the house and running through it grabbing everyone I could and getting them outside.” The boy said. “I just knew I had to help them. I was the only one who could.”

 

“No.” Talon said. “No, that's not possible. The cycle was finished. The legend is over.”

 

“What's your name, son?” The reporter asked.

 

“Don't say it.” Talon pleaded with the television. “Don't say it. Please don't say it.”

 

“Link Faroson.” The teenage boy told him.

 

“Great goddesses...” Talon whispered. “That can't be. That just can't be.” His food forgotten, he sat back in his chair and just stared at the boy who looked so much like himself he could have been his twin brother come back from the dead. Except that wouldn't have been nearly as horrifying to him as this. There on the television screen, fresh from an act of courageous heroism was the teenage face of his father, the Hero of Hyrule, dressed in a burned, long sleeve, green shirt, brown denim pants, and scuffed brown ranch boots.

 

What was the term he had once heard his father's friends from the other reality say? Oh crap. Yes, that was it. “Oh crap.” He said.

 

* * *

 

Link's uncle Russel rushed to Ordonville's hospital clinic from his goat ranch in his beat up old work steam-truck when he received the telephone call. He was a veteran of the border wars with the Bulblin tribes and walked with a limp, but but he never let either stop him from working his ranch or taking care of his family; his “nephew” Link included.

 

Anyone who looked at the kid could tell right off the bat Link wasn't related to him by blood. He was without question Hylian, and Russel was without question a born and raised Ordonian. Link was so Hylian, he even bore a passing resemblance to the royal family, though no one in Ordonville would have accused him of high birth. People talked in a small town, and everyone knew everyone's business.

 

No one actually knew who Link's father was. That, in and of itself started the gossip mill going. His mother came to Ordonville pregnant and single and looking to start over, and not wanting to talk much about her past. She was as sweet of a Hylian woman as Russel and his wife Tara had ever met. They had known the boy since he was in diapers. His mother had been a neighbor of theirs down the road from the ranch and had worked in the clinic as a nurse for a long time. When she had taken sick and had to be hospitalized, Russel and Tara promised to look after him. When she died, he just never left their care. That was just fine with Russel. Link had been a great older brother for their own boy Colin, who in turn idolized the Hylian youth.

 

When he got to the emergency room, Link was already up and ready to be going. What burns he had received on his back, arms, hands, and face in the fire had already healed thanks to the doctor's red healing medicine, and new pink skin had already mended them.

 

“What were you thinking, Link?!” Russel asked him when they got to the truck, his nerves at their end.

 

“They were going to die, uncle Russel! What else could I have done? What would you have done?” Link responded to him.

 

“Never mind what I would have done,” Russel said, a little less loudly. He knew exactly what he would have done had he been there with his foster son. He would have charged in there right alongside him if he could have, his gimpy leg be damned. “You almost got yourself killed.”

 

“But I'm okay! Really, I'm fine. It was just a few minor burns, and the red potions took care of them like...” His uncle didn't let him finish.

 

“Like they always do. Yeah, where have I heard that before?” Russel retorted as they drove along the dirt roads back to the small ranch house just outside of the other side of the small town. Ever since the boy was ten years old, after his mother had died, he was a source of constant terror in some ways for his foster parents. The vivid memory of a wild blue troll's battle cry in the back forty acres had brought Russel galloping at full speed on his old gelding, rifle in hand, only to find the most amazing sight he had ever laid eyes on of this little ten year old blond kid in a torn green shirt, one arm bloodied, holding a toy wooden sword on a blue troll twice his size. Russel's own four year old son, Colin, had been on the ground behind Link with a twisted ankle. Before Russel could take the shot with his rifle, he watched as the boy carefully, and with reflexes he had only ever seen in the battle hardened veterans of his old guardsman unit, took the troll's legs out from under him and brought the hard wooden toy sword down on the beast's head with such force that it split its skull open. Russel had never been more scared, or more proud that day, with the exception perhaps of today.

 

“I'm just glad you're okay, Link.” Russel told him, the wind taken out of his fear induced anger by the memory. “Every time this happens, I wonder if you've gotten yourself in over your head. One of the goddesses must love you for you to keep surviving half the stuff you get yourself into.”

 

“I don't know why this stuff always happens to me. I just... I see someone in trouble and I feel like I have to protect them. It's like... it's like it's what I was born to do.” Link told him. He was then silent for a minute, and then said, “I talked to the royal guardsman recruiter at school yesterday.”

 

“Oh?” Russel asked in surprise. Why he should have been surprised at it he didn't know. The goddesses only knew that it would be the most natural path for the boy, but still, it was the first time he had heard of it.

 

“I turn seventeen tomorrow. I'll be eligible for basic training.” He told him.

 

“What about high school?” Russel asked calmly, trying to get him to be patient. “You need to finish school first before you join. That's a whole 'nother year. Besides, what about your fencing teammates? You know they can't win the championships this year without you. You going to leave them high and dry?”

 

“I know, I just... I feel like I was meant for more than that. Like I was born to make a difference in this world.” Link explained.

 

“And you want to get started right away. I understand that.” Russel said. “Let me let you in on a little secret, Link. Remember Colin when you were ten years old? Remember how bad Malo got bullied when you both were in middle school until he met you? And remember Elsie Finniel and her family earlier today? You're already making a difference in this world, boy, and I couldn't be prouder. When it's the right time, I'll drive you up to Castleton's training camp myself and introduce you to your instructors. But don't get in so much of a hurry to save the world out there, that you forget the world that needs you right here, okay?”

 

“Okay.” Link said, seeing the wisdom of his uncle's argument.

 

They pulled into the stretch of dirt driveway and drove up to the one story house. In the horse pasture, Russel's gelding and Link's mare, Epona, stood grazing in the sunshine of the late spring afternoon.

 

* * *

 

The telephone rang in Princess Zelda's personal office in Hyrule Castle and her secretary, an older, portly, balding gentleman named “Mr. Impaz,” picked it up. “Princess Zelda's personal office, may I help you?” He asked.

 

“I need to speak to her highness right away. It is quite urgent.” The voice of a younger man told him.

 

“I see,” Mr. Impaz responded patiently. He received many such calls several times a day from young men who “needed” to speak with her highness. “Her royal highness is not in her office right now. May I take your name, telephone number and a short message?”

 

“My name is Talon, Sage of Time, and it is urgent that I speak with her!” The young man said impatiently.

 

Oh boy, here we go, Mr. Impaz thought. “Young man, I happen to know that the Sage of Time is over two hundred years old, and if he needed to contact her highness, he wouldn't need to use the telephone.” Really, did these self-deluded “suitors” seriously think he hadn't heard something like this before?

 

“My telephone number is three-three-zero-one-six-nine, Mr. Impaz,” the young man told him. “Check it with the numbers you have on file and try calling it back if you don't believe me, but I need to speak with the princess now. There is disturbing news that she must hear. The Hero had been reborn.”

 

“Yes, I'm very impressed you know my name, whoever you are.” The princess's secretary said, extremely unimpressed. “I will pass on your message to the princess when she returns to her office after the weekend.”

 

“What!” The young “Sage of Time” practically yelled over the receiver. Mr. Impaz then decided this conversation was over and hung up the phone. True to his word, he dutifully wrote down the number and every word of the message on a piece of notepaper and left it along with the other hundred or so for the Princess to read Monday morning. “Sage of Time indeed.” He snorted.

 

* * *

 

Talon practically screamed at his archaic telephone device in frustration when the line went dead. That had been his last resort, and Zelda's secretary didn't even know who he was.

 

No one. No one had responded to him. He had tried using his own mental means as a Sage to contact his fellow Sages, but all he received in return was silence. Granted, none of them had attempted to contact him for decades, but that wasn't unusual.

 

A Sage's life was one of solitude no matter to which deity that Sage was devoted. As it stood, even the Sage of Light, whose temple was in the middle of Castle Town... “Castleton now,” he reminded himself; even he had not made a public appearance for twenty years, since before the Princess had been born. None of the Sages had. He thought back, the last time Raulo had made an appearance was the coronation of Zelda's father, King Daphnes, oh, what was it? Twenty five years ago? Thirty? Time was such a difficult thing to keep track of in that place.

 

Still, someone should have picked up on his mental call. The Sage of Forest was the closest, her temple only in the Kokiri forest on the other side of Faron Province. She had, in the past, been the first to respond to his call and the least likely to ignore him when the others continued to distrust him. Among the Sages, she had been something of a real friend in his solitude. But Saral was silent to him now.

 

Unable to raise them by normal means, Talon had resorted to using the telephone device. It was not something he used on a normal basis, but the royal family, before Zelda had been born, had seen fit to install one, with his help, in his private residence to be able to make contact with them. He had been told that one had been given to all the Sages and lines had been run to make sure the Palace could keep in contact with all of them without having to make the often dangerous journeys to the temples where they resided, and vice-versa. He tried dialing each one of them, but again no one answered. Finally, in desperation, he had called Princess Zelda herself. Surely he would be able to speak with her, he had reasoned. They were after all family, and, now he knew for certain, he was her Sage.

 

No one. And his goddess herself, whose face he now watched on the nightly news, had ensured that he could not leave to take the message himself. What was happening in the world? At least now he knew for certain, at least he thought he knew, why his goddess had been silent to him for so many years. She had been busy growing up.

 

No one. He was alone, isolated, and powerless to warn anyone of the doom he knew was coming just by the appearance of... of the Hero. Nothing would be the same again. Nothing could. Hyrule would fall into chaos again, even if the Hero managed to save it.

 

“I can't stop it.” He said to himself. “Din, Nayru, Farore, great goddesses of creation help me!” he cried out. “What do I do? Grandmother! Speak to me!” He shouted to the goddess Farore, his father's true mother in the distant past.

 

He was trapped in the Temple of Time. He couldn't set foot out of it to warn them in person, if he crossed the threshold of the doorway into normal time, it would rip him to pieces. Even if he could, no one apart from certain members of the royal family even knew what he looked like, not even the guardsmen in the Sacred Grove.

 

Why had they been reborn? He turned the question over and over in his mind as he paced his chamber. The Demon King was long since destroyed, the Triforce had been made whole and was now safely secured in the Sacred Realm. Hyrule had moved on from its long dark age.

 

The news had long since been over, and several entertainment dramas which he never cared about had already played. The one on now was a historical drama about his father and those men he had known from the other reality. It was the episode where his father had fought the Demon King in the shadow of Minas Tirith in Middle Earth. They always got the details wrong, Talon knew. As the Sage of Time, he could see the whole sweep of Hyrule's history which had preceded him, though not its future. The actor playing his father looked nothing like him, and he wasn't much of an actor either.

 

The part of the program that was on now showed those men returning through the portal of time to their own world. Talon knew that hadn't been so simple either. It required a linking book to get them into their own reality, but, as the actress Impa on the program said, “Travel through time is easy for this place.” He repeated the words as she spoke them.

 

Colonel John Shepherd, Doctor Rodney McKay, and four other guardsmen from the mysterious world called “Earth.” That was two hundred and thirty years ago. They were long since dead, but... A plan began to form in his mind. “Travel through time is easy for this place.” He said again.

 

He then hurriedly dressed himself more appropriately for travel. If it worked, he had a long journey, a very long journey, ahead of him. He pulled on the pair of leather knee high boots he used when entertaining his monthly guest over his red trousers. He tucked in his white shirt and laced up the collar. Finally he pulled his red Sage's robe over his ensemble, the left arm of it hanging half empty where his hand had been burned away as a rebuke for the insane arrogance of a time long ago. Finally, he checked the tight braid of his long ginger hair which his grand niece had been so kind to do for him a few days before. It was still relatively presentable. This was the one part of his appearance he had difficulty with. It took two hands to braid one's hair. Satisfied he didn't look like a mongrel, he hurried from his residence to the great hall of the temple.

 

Would _she_ help him, though? That was the question. He would be bringing them back to her own time too early, so he had to calibrate the portal just right to a time he knew they wouldn't be there, and when she would be sufficiently aware of the events she needed to be. If the goddess was willing, she would recognize him as one of her own. Travel through time, easy though it may be, was full of infinite twists and turns of things one never expected.

 

He waved his hand at the pedestal controls and activated the great ring of the portal, raising it up from its dormant chamber in the hall's marble floor. It began to spin, the symbols on its face lighting up. He thought through his plan again, and then one more time. It wasn't one of many options left to him, he concluded. It was his only option.

 

With one last prayer for guidance to his grandmother, he stepped through the shimmering blue field of energy into Hyrule's past.

 

* * *

 

Princess Zelda Johnson entered her office in the palace late that night, well past the time that Mr. Impaz had closed up and gone home. She hadn't planned on returning to it until the following Monday, but there was always so much work to do, especially after her address to Hyrule's Parliament earlier that day. Her father supported her equality rights legislation proposal, but it wasn't her father she had to convince. It would take weeks of campaigning in the parliament ministers' districts and provinces to ensure their votes in the final tally.

 

She flicked on the lights and walked past her secretary's desk, absentmindedly grabbing the list of telephone messages he had compiled from his desk and taking them into the back office where her own desk lie.

 

On her antique desk photographs of Goron children she had gotten to know in her last trip to Eldin were fixed on the desktop by tape. She kept them there so that she wouldn't forget why she was doing this. The governor of Eldin was a slippery Hylian man who had won his election by rigging the vote. She was certain of that, though she couldn't prove it. It was because of that man, and others in Eldin like him that those kids' schools didn't have enough funding to stay open, and it was too long of a journey for most Gorons to attend school in Kakariko City every day. It was also because of that man that many Gorons had been denied the right to vote by ridiculous laws targeting them specifically. Some days, not all the time, but there were some days she wished it was two hundred years ago when the royal family had absolute power, and just her word could remove him and others like him from office.

 

She sat down at her desk and began going through the messages. Most of them could wait until Monday. Well wishers, donors to the equality campaign, detractors... Mr. Impaz had dutifully recorded each message for her, no matter how irrelevant it seemed. She appreciated him for that, letting her decide which message was important and which wasn't.

 

As she worked her way through the list she saw one that stood out.

 

“Talon, the Sage of Time...” Was that even possible? She looked at the number he left and went to her computer organizer to look it up. “Why would he need to call my office?” She asked herself. Why would he call anyone's office? It had to be someone impersonating him, or... or something like that, didn't it?

 

The number came up as a restricted contact. Royal family's eyes only. “Oh dear.” She said. She pulled the receiver from the phone and dialed the number, reading the rest of the message. “The Hero... What!?” She said out loud in surprise as the number dialed. “This has to be a prank.” She said. It wouldn't have been the first time. She entered her own password into her organizer to recover the contact information on the number. “Temple of Time. Sage of Time's personal phone line.” The information told her. She then said something distinctly un-princess-like as she swore.

 

The number continued to dial until she received a message that her party wasn't answering. She checked the time on the message. Mr. Impaz had taken it in the late afternoon, about six hours before.

 

She couldn't just ignore it. It was the Sage of Time trying to personally contact her. The message said that he said it was urgent, and now he wasn't picking up his telephone. “He can't leave the temple, so where is he?” She asked.

 

What she she do? She put her palms to her eyes trying to think. “I wish I had my ancestor's wisdom.” She said. Finally she made up her mind. Checking her watch, she called for her private driver. The entry point for the Sacred Grove was only two hours away by electric car, from there it took more time to traverse the elevators and bridges down into the grove, as well as the security checkpoints. She had never been there herself, but she knew the details of it well, having learned it from the time she was very young. The administration of the Sages' temples was, ultimately, her responsibility as Hyrule's crown princess, and she always spoke with her cousin Malona after her visits. She had just been there recently to visit him in fact, and nothing seemed amiss, she thought.

 

“Looks like another late night, but if you've tried to get my attention, Talon, you've got it. I'm on my way.” She said as she quickly left her office, turning out the lights and locking the door, heading immediately for the palace garage to meet her driver.

 

* * *

 

The trans-kingdom highway was clear that night with only the occasional other car passing them as her white and silver electric luxury cruiser sped along at top speed towards Faron Province. The moon was full and bright overhead and the lights of Castleton were far behind it. Normally, the car would be flying the winged Triforce flags of the royal family, but she had chosen to forego them this time so as not to attract unwanted attention from news reporters about where she was going. The exact location of this temple in particular was still a closely guarded secret that didn't need to be made known to the wider world.

 

In the front seat next to the driver rode a guardsman whom Zelda had trusted for a long time. In the back seat where she rode, sat her personal bodyguard. Both would give their lives for her without hesitation. Both were well trained in both pistol and sword play; the latter antique martial art still very much a part of their practice as much in honor of her ancestors as it was practical. Swords couldn't run out of bullets.

 

Zelda had called her father on the cruiser's personal phone to let him know what was happening.

 

“I don't know, father, that's why I'm going to find out.” She told the king. None of the men in the car would ever reveal a word of what she said so she had no fear of discussing the situation with him.

 

There were some muffled questions from the other end, and she responded. “No, I don't know how long I will be. Williams and Johnson are here with me, and there's the Grove security detail as well. I'll be fine.”

 

More muffled talking, and then she replied, “yes, I'll call you from the Sage's private line once I get there and let you know what's happening. It's concerning to me too.”

 

There was some silence, and then it seemed like his majesty's tone became quiet and serious. “I know, father. If the Hero really has been reborn, then what does that say about me?” On that issue, she knew what it meant. It was her duty and responsibility to know what it meant, but she never thought it possible in her lifetime. Not in their day and age. “I thought this was supposed to over and done with too.”

 

The king said something else, and she responded, “I love you too, father. I will see you when I return in the morning. Get some sleep, I'll be fine.” And then she hung up the phone.

 

Just then the car slammed on its brakes and she and everyone else in the car was thrown forward, the only thing saving her from breaking her delicate neck being her seat belt as the car skidded sideways on the empty stretch of highway. “Ughh,” she yelped involuntarily as she was tossed back into her seat by the inertial forces.

 

“Gavin! What happened?!” She shouted at the driver, but then she saw out the window, as did her bodyguards who drew their side arms.

 

In front of the car stood a lone hulking figure who seemed to merge with the surrounding shadows and darkness. It's eyes were glowing red embers.

 

“Your highness, stay in the car!” Williams shouted from the front as he opened the bullet-proof passenger side door and crouched down behind it. John remained by her side, his own weapon drawn as a precaution. The driver, Gavin, also produced a pistol, but made no move to go anywhere, keeping his eyes on the creature in front of them.

 

“Like I'm going to challenge that to a duel!” She retorted.

 

The creature moved toward them. As it did so, it seemed to absorb the moonlight, leaving a great black hole where it stood. It opened its mouth, drew in a deep breath and a pale green fire shot in front of them as it exhaled, lighting up the scene to reveal enormous demonic wings, black scales, and wickedly sharp teeth. It's massive head was crowned by two enormous black horns.

 

“Why is the dragon attacking us?” Zelda asked. The dragons of Hyrule were almost never seen anymore, and those that she knew of from Hyrule's legendary past were, like the Sages, guardians not mindless monsters with only a few notable exceptions.

 

Williams opened fire, and Zelda screamed as the beast leaped for the seemingly armored car. The last thing she remembered was a huge black claw peeling back the roof of the vehicle like a metal meat can, and then all was darkness and shadow.

  



	27. Chapter 27

Chapter 27

 

Talon emerged from the portal in the same place he left. It was a bit disorienting to him as, for a brief second, he wondered if he had set the portal's destination wrong. As he stepped out and looked around, however, he found that he hadn't miscalculated after all. There, with a look of surprise on her face, was a very elderly woman with silver hair worn in a long braid, wearing a very similar robe to himself, holding a cup of tea in her hand.

 

“Your grace.” Talon addressed her.

 

The Sage of Time looked at him, sizing him up while sipping from her cup. He felt a brief but powerful brush against his mind as she searched it. He did not resist. She needed to know what he knew in order for him to justify his presence in this time to her.

 

“Your grace,” Impa finally returned the greeting. “You take an awful risk coming here.”

 

“I understand. I had no other option.” Talon returned nervously.

 

“Have no fear from me, Talon son of Link. I agree that you were left with no other options. Foolhardy as this one was, it was the only choice to make.” Impa told him. “Your father would have done the same.”

 

Talon nodded uncertainly. “You understand why I have come. Will you help me?” He asked.

 

“Like you, I have no other option if we are to ensure Hyrule's continued survival in the future. Yes, I know what, and whom you seek. Follow me.” She told him.

 

As they walked the halls of the temple towards the library where he knew the book he needed was kept, he asked her, “Do you know what threat might face us in my time?”

 

“No.” She returned. “It is disturbing information you bring me. I have seen our future in your mind. Nothing in or from Hyrule that I am aware of could have brought their rebirth. As you know, we have always had our share of monsters and threats throughout our history.”

 

Their footfalls echoed through the hallways as they walked the marble floors. She continued, “But it was only the Demon King's threat that causes them to remain with us now.”

 

Talon considered that, then asked, “Could there be another Demon King?”

 

“Not from Hyrule.” She pronounced. “Or from any world connected to her. We would have seen it coming, you and I. No, this threat is not from our world, and it has had eighteen years to take root in your time.”

 

“Eighteen years, your grace?” Talon asked, not having really considered the implications before. He had been so shocked to see his father's face he hadn't stopped to think.

 

“Yes.” She said, a little impatiently. “Think, boy! You're two hundred and twenty five years old, have your wits gone dull? Link and Zelda have both reached seventeen years old, so what would have caused them to be reborn must have entered Hyrule around eighteen years ago. It takes nine or ten months for a baby to form before the child is born.”

 

He held his tongue. At two hundred and twenty five years, he could hardly be considered a boy to anyone, except to the ancient lady next to him. How old had she lived before she was cut down? Thousands of years?

 

“This new evil has been lying in wait for eighteen years.” He said. “And no one has noticed it.”

 

Impa remained silent so as to let him understand what he may be facing. She then said, “You must be careful, young Talon. This enemy has had eighteen years to plan and strategize and put his pieces into place. You are only now realizing that there is a game to be played and you don't know all of the rules yet. Fortunately,” she chuckled, “neither, apparently, does your opponent. If he did, this temple would have fallen long before your coming to see me. Perhaps he does not know about it. If so, that advantage will only serve you for so long.”

 

“I understand.” Talon replied. He then asked, “Do you believe these other heroes will help us? Do I make the journey in vain?”

 

She didn't hesitate when she said, “They are all good men in their hearts. Even Rodney McKay. But they are under the authorities of their own world. Even if they wanted to help, they may not be permitted.”

 

“Who else could I enlist, then?” Talon asked.

 

“I do not know for certain. But consider this, this new enemy has entered Hyrule, where no one knows him or of him, from the outside for a reason. You must find out what that reason is. And if he is an evil presence, as the lady Hylia and the Hero believed him to be, then there are those from the outside who would fight against him as they would. You can be certain of that. You must try to locate them and enlist their aid as well if you can. In eighteen years, is it inconceivable that one or more of them might have also found their way here?” Impa reasoned. “If they have, then you must find a way to make contact with them.”

 

They reached the library where Impa went to a particular shelf and retrieved a well used leather bound book. “Remember, if they choose to return with you, they may not set foot into Hyrule in this time any more than you can. You must take them straight back through the portal into the future.”

 

She opened the book to the back panel, where they could both see a moving picture of a library, not unlike the one they were standing in. “Good luck, your grace.” She told him. He placed his hand on the panel, and his body became swirling energy as it was sucked into the panel of the linking book to Earth.

 

* * *

 

“Hey Link, get in here!” Colin called his older foster brother from the living room. It was noon and the news was just coming on their old television. “There's something about your _sister_ on the news again. Or is she your girlfriend, I forget.” That had been a running tease of Colin's lately after hearing Link's fencing teammates tease him about the resemblance.

 

The truth was that there _was_ some kind of a connection he felt every time he saw a picture of the crown princess, whether it was a report about her on the news, her picture in the newspaper, or even seeing her face on the green colored one rupee note. He always felt something for her in a way that didn't make sense to him, and did his best to keep others from seeing. Regardless of his efforts, those who knew him best picked up on his “crush” early on.

 

Link tried to be casual as he entered the living room and sat down on the couch next to Colin. He then casually hit his eleven year old foster brother in the back of his blond head with his palm, and then pretended not to know what had happened. “Hey!” Colin exclaimed. “What was that for?”

 

Link didn't answer him as he stared at the news, instead he moved to turn it up as the pictures in front of him grew increasingly disturbing. “Coming to you live from the southbound trans-highway one where Princess Zelda's armored car has been found torn to shreds, burn marks like some kind of huge flamethrower surround the area, and great, humongous claw marks are everywhere.” The shot then went to a picture of three, seriously burned and injured men being loaded into royal ambulances for the run back to Castleton. “There is no sign of her royal highness, and the men who were in the vehicle are not saying anything to the news media at this time. Was the princess in the vehicle? Was she kidnapped?” An old stock photo of her royal highness flashed up onto the screen, and Link felt the shock of recognition he always felt, her name coming to his mind unbidden, though he never understood why. He had never met the princess, never even seen her in public, yet somehow he had always known that he _knew_ her from somewhere. “We'll keep you updated all day on the developing crisis.” The shot went back to the anchor at the desk in the news studio.

 

“Zelda...” Link said, almost involuntarily. “She's been taken.” Images like memories came to his mind, almost unbidden. “I have to go.” He said, his voice wavering.

 

“Go, go where? Mom wanted to have your birthday party once dad got done in the back forty.” Colin said in confusion. “And then you said you'd practice fencing with me later so I could be ready for the Middle School tryouts in a couple of months.”

 

“What?” Link said as though waking up from a daze. “Oh, right, uh...” He didn't know how to respond to him. What was he thinking? That he, a seventeen year old high school student go run off and save the princess from whatever monstrosity had made those marks on the ground?

 

Dragon. The word came without warning to his mind. A dragon made those marks, a massive one by the look of them too. “Whoa!” Link said out loud. “Where did that come from?”

 

“Where did what come from?” Colin asked. “Link, what's going on?”

 

“I need to, uh...” He had to come up with an excuse. “I need to go and uh... talk to Epona.” He then walked out of the room, not paying attention to Colin's confused “Huh?”

 

He ran upstairs to his bedroom almost involuntarily and grabbed his fencing sword. It was a good strong, broad bladed weapon that his foster father had given him when he made the varsity team at Ordonville High. He didn't know why, but he pulled off the denim shirt he was wearing and pulled on a forest green hooded sweatshirt with the words “Ordonville High School Fencing Team Provincial Champions” in gold letters across the chest, and his old brown leather jacket, as well as his brown leather riding boots. Looking around his room he couldn't find his competition chain-mail, then he remembered it was at school in his gym locker, and it was the weekend. Taking one more look for... for something, he wasn't sure what... there, on his dresser was a small wooden flute that Colin had carved for him. “Why do I need this?” He asked himself, but stuffed it into his jacket's front zippered pocket anyways. He then grabbed his brown and green rucksack, emptied his school books out of it, and went back downstairs.

 

As he almost ran out the door to the barn. he also didn't see Colin go to the telephone and dial a number.

 

“Why am I doing this?” He asked himself. “This is insane. It doesn't make any sense.” The barn wasn't a far distance from the house. Epona was there instead of out in the pasture, he knew.

 

He opened the barn door and made his way to Epona's stall, grabbing her saddle and tack along the way. He went in and began to saddle her.

 

“Going somewhere, son?” Russel's voice came to him from behind his back as he buckled the saddle into place.

 

“I don't know.” Link said in confusion. “I don't understand it. I was watching a news broadcast. The Princess is in trouble.” Just the thought of it began to harden his determination. “I have to get to her. I have to find her. I don't know why.” He stood up and turned to face his uncle.

 

The old man had a sad smile on his face, and an antique royal shield bearing the winged Triforce crest as its standard. “I do, son.” He said. “You may not think it, but I've read all the old stories in the Sacred Texts. When I first met you, I thought, 'hey that kid looks like the Hero, would you look at that?' But then I watched you grow up, I watched your natural skill with a blade, and your absolutely reckless courage whenever anyone's in trouble. I may be an old, broken down rancher, but I'm not stupid, son. I knew...” Tears filled his eyes. “I've known for a long time this day would come, that's why I kept this.”

 

Russel gave over the shield to Link. “It's my old shield from my days in the guard. It'll keep you safe like it kept me.” He showed him how to wear it on his back. “I'd run you up there myself in the old truck to get you started, but something tells me I need to stay out of it.”

 

“The Hero...” Link tried to process everything Russel had said, and as confusing and frightening as it was, it felt... it felt... _right_. “I don't have a choice, do I?” Link asked.

 

“We all have a choice, Link.” Russel told him. “We either obey the will of the gods or we don't, and we reap the consequences of those choices we make for good or for bad. Be sure to make the right one. And whatever choice you make right now, just know that I could never be prouder of the man you've become. And I think your mom would be too.”

 

Link nodded. He could choose, he thought. He could choose to stay and be a normal teenager, or he could throw himself into danger to save someone he didn't know. It didn't take long for him to make the decision as he hugged his uncle fiercely, and then went to Epona's left side, put his foot in the stirrup, and mounted her.

 

“Good luck, son. You'll need to go north through Faron province to get to the part of the highway in Hyrule field that was on the news. That's a pretty long journey on horseback, it's going to take a few days.” Then as if something just occurred to him, he said, “Let me grab some food for the journey for you from the kitchen real fast. It'll only take a minute.” Russel went as quickly as he could while Link waited in Epona's saddle. When he returned a few minutes later, Russel packed the quickly gathered rations into Epona's saddlebags, and then fastened them back up. “Thanks, Uncle Russel.” Link told him.

 

They said their final goodbyes, and then Link rode Epona out of the barn, up the driveway, and down the road, and then they were gone and out of sight. As Russel watched him go out of sight, he turned to go back into the house, trying to find a way to explain to his family why Link might not be coming back.

 

“They'll think I've lost my mind for letting him go.” He said to himself. “But, goddesses forgive me, what else could I have done?” He reached into his shirt and drew out a worn gold pendant which he had worn on a silver chain since he was in the military years before. He gripped it tightly and pressed it to his lips briefly. “I don't often ask for much, but if that boy really is your son, Farore, then go with him and protect him, and bring him back to us whole and safe when it's time.”

 

As he replaced the pendant back into his shirt, a warm breeze rustled through the nearby trees and gently wrapped around the older man before moving on. He smiled and nodded, hoping that meant someone had heard him.

 

* * *

 

Zelda's eyes opened up to shadows all around her. It was dark in the room where she had been left, with only a pale blue light emanating from a lantern set into a wall. She found herself lying on top of a bed, her head resting on a pillow. For a few seconds, she wondered if she had merely dreamed the attack on the car.

 

“Good, you're awake, dear. I was beginning to wonder how much longer it would be. Not that I'm in any hurry, mind you.” A strange woman's voice spoke to her from the shadows.

 

Zelda sat straight up. She didn't recognize the room at all. It was all stone, and almost looked like a prison cell, except the door to the cell had either been removed from its hinges or it had rotted off of them. “Where am I?” She demanded to know.

 

“Oh dear, that's right, how rude of me. You were unconscious and I hadn't properly introduced myself. Well then,” she said as she stepped out of the shadows and into the pale light of the blue flame, “you may call me Maleficent. And as for where you are, well, I found this nice former little prison of yours that you don't seem to use anymore. I believe your people call it the 'Arbiter's Grounds.' I hope you don't mind if I borrow it for a little while. I promise I'll give it back once I'm done with it.” She said as though they were new friends having a girl chat, though there was wicked malice hiding behind every word, and Zelda could sense it.

 

“Why did you have your beast kidnap me?” Zelda her 'host' calmly, controlling her tone of voice.

 

“Kidnap? Oh no, dear. No, that wasn't kidnapping.” Maleficent told her, drawing closer to the bed. “That was, how shall we say, bringing you under my protection for the time being.”

 

Zelda could see her more clearly now. She seemed an attractive woman with an almost otherworldly beauty to her. Two great black horns protruded from the top of her head, and the rest of her head and body was concealed by a black leather suit of some kind and a black cloak. Maleficent carried a staff as she walked. She had seen someone like her before, but she couldn't remember where.

 

“What do you mean?” Zelda tried to keep her talking. She knew nothing about this woman, and her name was unknown to the Princess. “Protect me from whom?” She asked.

 

“Someone to whom you are far more valuable than to me, I assure you.” The black dressed woman said. “Would you like some tea?” She made a motion with her hand and a small table appeared to form out of the shadows. On the top of the table had been set a teapot, and two cups with saucers. Steam issued lazily from the pot's spout. Seeing Zelda's wary expression, Maleficent said, “Oh don't worry dear, if I had wanted you dead, I wouldn't have taken the trouble to bring you here and let you sleep for a while only to poison you. Actually, I was in such a good mood last night, I even let your little man-toys live.” She then rolled her eyes up, smiled and said, “a little banged up for shooting those nasty weapons at me, true, but they're still alive nonetheless.” She poured some tea into a cup and took a sip. “I'm afraid your carriage didn't fare as well, though. What it pity that. You have such good taste.”

 

Zelda then took Maleficent's offer of tea and poured herself a cup and took a sip, digesting the information that she just gave her. Maleficent hadn't enlisted a dragon's aid. Maleficent _had been_ the dragon. That meant she was a being of great magical power, more so than any Hylian wizard or witch. Zelda had no doubts now that Maleficent could have dispatched her with a flick of her finger.

 

“Believe me my dear, if I hadn't taken you when I did, he would have done so shortly after, and then you wouldn't be having nearly as pleasant of a time as you are now.” Maleficent continued. “So, I have introduced myself properly, but I'm afraid I don't actually know your name.”

 

That took the Princess by surprise. She had never met anyone who didn't know who she was on sight. “You really don't know who I am?” She asked.

 

“As much as it may shock you dear, you aren't the center of everyone's universe.” Maleficent said dryly.

 

“That's not what I...” Zelda began to say a little flustered. She then caught herself. If only she knew who I may be, Zelda thought to herself. But out loud she said, “I am Zelda, Crown Princess of the United Kingdom of Hyrule. If you didn't know who I was, then why did you... protect me?”

 

“Well, I knew you were a princess of heart. The light in your heart was shining like a beacon that any idiot could track halfway across time and space. You weren't hard to locate dear. He's been here much longer than I have. I'm just surprised he hasn't taken you himself yet.” Maleficent said.

 

“Who is 'he?'” Zelda asked.

 

“No one you would know, I'm sure.” She replied, setting her teacup down. Then she looked at her with a certain malevolence in her eyes and said, “But believe me when I say that when his plan comes to fruition, he will cover your world in darkness the likes of which you have never seen before.”

 

“What do you want with him?” Zelda asked.

 

“Why, I want to kill him of course, which is why I need you. You will draw him like a moth to the flame.” Maleficent told her.

 

“So, I'm your bait.” Zelda said.

 

“I hoped you would be a smart one. I have met so few smart princesses in my time, I'm glad to see that hope was not misplaced. Who knows, you might even survive this. Won't that be fun?” She grinned a wide, toothy, evil grin.

 

* * *

 

Talon materialized in a great vaulted library, which was filled from floor to ceiling with books on shelves set into the walls. Great marble columns held up the roof, and box-like symbols which he did not recognize were etched into the columns. He was standing next to a pedestal whereupon lay a large book, its own yellowed, vellum pages open to the back panel where he could see a moving picture of the great hall of the Temple of Time. Around the room were other pedestals, whereupon lay other books, some of the them open, and others closed.

 

“Hello?” Came a man's voice from behind him. It was somewhat familiar, though he hadn't heard it for two hundred years, and then only in passing while he lay in pain in a healer's tent, recovering from the loss of his hand. He turned around to find an Ordonian man with light brown or sandy blond hair (Talon couldn't decide which in the dim light of the library) who appeared maybe ten or fifteen years older than himself. He wore spectacles and a black suit of some kind which looked to be of a military nature.

 

“Greetings.” Talon said cautiously, but politely as he faced him. He extended his good hand, but the other man didn't seem interested in taking it, so he drew it back. “I have heard your voice before, but I don't think we were properly introduced.” He said, unsure of how the man had received his entry into their world.

 

“No, no we weren't,” The other man said in the language of Hyrule. “The last time I saw you, you were lying on a cot.”

 

“Yes, those were... unfortunate circumstances.” Talon said awkwardly.

 

“To say the least.” The other man agreed. “What are you doing here?” He asked, in confusion. “I mean, after what happened, when you weren't returned to the Castle after John and Malon took you off to be judged, we just assumed that...”

 

“That I was to be executed.” Talon finished for him. His face became serious. “I suppose I deserved it. No, I know I deserved it. In a way, I suppose the result was the same. I was forbidden from ever setting foot in Hyrule's normal time again.”

 

“So they imprisoned you in the Temple of Time?” The other man asked.

 

“In a manner of speaking. Hylia made me her Sage as punishment, then forbid me to ever set through the gateway into Hyrule. If I do, I will die.” Talon explained further. “Though there was no prohibition against me traveling through the linking books, or the portal of time.”

 

“So, what brings you to our reality?” He asked, “just stopping in for a vacation, some time away?” It was a little sarcastic.

 

“I know you have no reason to trust me.” Talon said.

 

“No. No, you're right. I don't. The last time I saw you was a month ago, and you had just tried to destroy the Sages and usurp your mother and brother's throne, so, no.” The other man asked.

 

“And the last time I heard your voice, Daniel Jackson, was two hundred years ago.” Talon returned. “I've had a lot of time to reflect on my crimes. I am here, because there has been a terrible development in my time, and I can contact no one in my time for help.” His voice fell and he sounded tired, and every bit his age in spite of his only appearing in his mid-twenties. “I don't know why. My fellow Sages are silent to my mental calls, and the royal family... Things have become more complicated in the last two hundred years.”

 

“What development?” Daniel asked, trying to wrap his mind around the situation.

 

“The Princess and the Hero have been reborn.” Talon said, with as much gravity as he could muster. “The Princess Zelda I have known about since she was born. I have watched her grow up on the television device, but I had thought it was only a family resemblance and a traditional name. But, for me, six hours ago I saw my father's face on a news broadcast in a teenage boy with the same name, from the same village he has been from time and again.”

 

“Television?” Daniel questioned. They had progressed, he thought to himself, in two hundred years. He shook his head trying to get back on task. “That wasn't supposed to happen. I mean, they being reborn wasn't supposed to happen again. The cycle was finished. Copulus and Hylia were supposed to be able to rest and remain ascended.”

 

“Yes, they were supposed to. Instead, they descended to mortal form again seventeen years ago.” Talon said.

 

“So what changed that caused them to make that decision?” Daniel was following his train of thought.

 

“What indeed?” Talon repeated his question. “Hyrule has had its wars and evil people since you left, and they have had to fight through it themselves and suffered the consequences of it. In all that time, we have still progressed, and the Hero and Princess have remained away. So what kind of threat to our people would bring them back? I have observed nothing in those seventeen years, nothing different, nothing obvious.” Talon brought his hand to his face to rub his forehead. “My fellow Sages have not contacted me either, but that is not unusual, even in the best of times we rarely speak to one another. There is no reason that I know of that would bring them back except one, and my father destroyed him with your people's help.”

 

“So you think there might be another Demon King? Another evil god has entered Hyrule?” Daniel jumped ahead of him.

 

“It has crossed my mind, and he has had seventeen years to plan.” Talon confirmed for him.

 

“And you couldn't leave the Temple to go and warn them personally.” Daniel put the pieces together.

 

“No.” Talon responded.

 

“So you came here, back in time, to find help?” He finished. “You must have been desperate to come to us.”

 

“Very much so, Daniel Jackson.” He admitted. “Please, you have no reason to trust me, and I understand that. But, for my father's and aunt's sake, for the sake of my world, will you help me?”

 

 


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter 28

 

It was later in the evening, and Link and Epona had been riding for the better part of a day before he came to the steel and concrete bridge of Ordon, which connected the province to the rest of the Kingdom. He stared down the deep, deep gorge which seemed like a great violent tear in the earth and wondered how people in times past managed to stir up their courage to cross it when it was only a rope and wood construction. It looked like one would fall forever into the void if they crossed the safety barriers. He had never been out of his province before to see the wider world, and he wondered if he had the courage to do so this time.

 

“Well, this is it, girl. Do we go on, or do we turn back?” He asked Epona, who snorted and shook her head. “Yeah, it's a big decision for me too.” He responded.

 

An image of the beautiful, blue eyed blond princess being carried off by a black dragon came into his mind. “I have to get to her, girl. She's in trouble, and I've got to help her.” The feeling of urgency was insistent inside of him.

 

He summoned everything within him and urged his nine year old mare onwards onto the lightly traveled structure, the shoes of her hooves clacking loudly against the pavement. Neither horse nor rider had stopped to rest or eat until they had gotten to this point, and both were exhausted as they crossed.

 

Throughout the day, other people in cars or trucks on the road had passed them both, either waving or ignoring them as the case had been. A few who knew Link and Epona had waved and called out greetings as they passed by. Link waved back at these and smiled, but kept going. Ordon was still a very rural province, and no one had been surprised to see a man on horseback along the road on the weekend, though the shield and sword he carried on his back might have raised a few eyebrows.

 

Link and Epona warily reached the other side, and, guiding Epona over to the side of the road he dismounted and led her to a patch of grass while he looked around for a place to camp. Down the road he could see some lights from a business, but he had only brought a few rupees worth of banknotes, and a couple of hard green ones. He had been in such a hurry to get moving that he hadn't actually planned it out and gotten the rest of his savings out of the bank. And now he was committed, and whatever was inside him driving him wouldn't turn back.

 

He went to the saddlebag where his uncle had packed the rations for him to see what he had to eat for the night before he made camp in the cold night air. Opening the saddlebag, he reached his hand in and found some fruit, and a wrapped piece of his birthday cake that his aunt Tara had been baking for him earlier in the day. He smiled and fought back a tear at the man's thoughtfulness. They had both been so good to him over the years, he could never repay them. There were even a few cans of his favorite pumpkin soda.

 

As he rummaged through the bag, his hand brushed up against a wad of paper which had been bound together by rubber bands. Knowing that he hadn't put anything like that in Epona's saddlebag, he brought it out and looked out it. It looked like royal banknotes. He undid the rubber band to see a face which looked startlingly like his own on orange colored, hundred rupee banknotes, and a hand written note. He opened the note and read it, “These are coupons which are good for anything anywhere in Hyrule I happened to just have laying around. Make good use of them. If I'm right, all of Hyrule is depending on you, son.”

 

He stared at the sizable roll of money which his uncle had given him, unable to hold back the tears at the man's generosity. “I won't let you down. I promise.” He said as he stuffed the money into his pants' pocket. He patted Epona on the side of the neck and said, “Just a little farther, girl, there might be an inn down the road where we can both get some proper rest.” He then climbed back into the saddle and rode on.

 

* * *

 

A dark man with flames for hair laughed at Link in the distance. He could hear his deep voice taunting him, “Come to me little Hero! I'm waiting for you!” He could feel his sword... No it wasn't his sword, it was a different sword with a blue hilt. But he felt it as he pushed the blade into the dark man's chest and then the whole world exploded around him.

 

Link woke up with a yell, breathing heavily. His sheets were wet from his sweat. The first rays of dawn were just beginning to peak through the glass windows of the roadside inn's room. But there was no dark man, no threat that he could see in the single room. His clothes and armaments lay exactly where he had put them the night before. He pulled himself out of bed, and went to shower off the sweat in the tiny bathroom.

 

As luck would have it, the business had in fact been an inn, as well as a service station for travelers. The owner of the place, when he had found out Link was Russel's foster son, had refused to take his money, and made sure to stable Epona with the horses he normally kept for tourists and vacationers to rent out, giving her a good portion of oats.

 

“Russel's an old buddy of mine from the guard,” he had told Link. “He saved my life during a Bulblin raid on our position, and took one of the bastard's blades in his own leg as a result. Nope, your money's no good here, son. I owe him at least that much. Let me fix you something before you hit the sack, okay?” It was yet another reminder of the family that cared about him back home. The family he had been driven to leave to accomplish something that still seemed insane to him.

 

The nightmare wasn't new. It had visited him time and again as he grew up, along with others. Many of his dreams involved Zelda, some of them embarrassingly so. Others were of a different, pretty flame haired girl whose name was always out of reach. Most of them ended fighting some kind of hell-spawned creature. The images were always fuzzy, but his mind kept forcing him to relive horrors that he knew he had never faced, at least not in this lifetime. Would he have to face them again? It was a question he knew the answer to, and wished he didn't. He hadn't asked anyone to be “the Hero,” and he wasn't really convinced that he was. He just knew that someone he cared about, even though he had never met her, was in trouble and she needed him.

 

He dressed himself, donning his sword and shield over the back of his leather jacket again, and went to see if there was any breakfast to be had. Sure enough, the man already had cucco eggs, bacon, and milk waiting for him with a strong cup of black tea to boot. “Just enough to get you going for the day, lad.” The innkeeper had told him. “And when you see your uncle again, let him know Claude from the 3rd Cavalry still remembers what he did for us that day, okay?”

 

Link promised to tell him as soon as he saw him again. He and Epona left the inn shortly after that, heading ever north deeper into Faron Province.

 

* * *

 

King Daphnes Johnson sat at his antique Deku wood desk by the telephone and computer device in his expansive, wood lined office waiting for any news about his daughter. His eyes were red from a lack of sleep, but nothing could seem to get him to close his eyes and rest. Several cups of strong tea had come and gone on his desk, and a fresh one now sat in front of him. He had held this vigil now for the thirty six hours or so since he learned of his daughter's abduction. Holding vigil with him were his minister of defense and the head of palace security, both men having come in and out of the office several times since the crisis had begun as they oversaw all efforts to track down the creature that had absconded with the Princess. But the king himself would not, could not find any rest.

 

The men assigned to protect her were still in the hospital, their wounds strangely resistant to the traditional red water of life. The head of palace security interviewed all three of them several times while they lay in their hospital beds, though there wasn't much more they could add except to verify what the creature that took her was. They had all confirmed it.

 

For the last thirty six hours the king had been talking with anyone and everyone who could or might know anything about what had happened. Everyone agreed that it had been a dragon attack from the forensic evidence on top of the eyewitness testimony, but no one could say more than that. “Why would a dragon abduct the Princess?” He kept asking these “experts.” No one had any answers for him.

 

The dragons of Hyrule were, as a rule, guardians in a similar way that Sages were guardians. They were intelligent, self aware, and, with a few notable exceptions, almost entirely benevolent. But according to the men who survived the attack, this dragon had been black as the night. No one knew anything about a black dragon anywhere in Hyrule.

 

King Daphnes had called back the Sage of Time, his great-great-great-great-great-grand-uncle. He had tried calling him many times in the last day and a half with no answer. He had also tried personally calling every Sage in the other seven Sacred Temples to find out what the Sages might know about the Sage of Time's phone call. No one responded to him. The telephone was just left ringing. The Sages were silent. Even the Sage of Light, Rauro, in the Temple there in Castleton would not answer. The King had sent a representative there, but the doors to the Temple would open for no one.

 

Out of desperation, he began to make plans to travel to the Sacred Grove himself to speak with his relative and find out what was going on, but his own bodyguards and ministers refused to allow it with the Crown Princess missing and no other royal successor. He became a prisoner in his own palace.

 

He took another sip of the tea, though he had ceased to be able to taste it long, long before that, and once more started to try and think through his options. “The Hero has been reborn.” He said out loud.

 

“What was that, your majesty?” The minister of defense, a retired old veteran of the military whom Daphnes had trusted, asked.

 

“The Sage's original message to my daughter, the reason why he tried to get a hold of her. It was that the Hero had been reborn.” The king told him again. “Zelda tried calling him back and couldn't get an answer, so she set out to go see him immediately. It's not every day a Sage calls you with earth shattering news, and then doesn't pick up when you call. It merited her personal attention.”

 

“Indeed, your majesty. That is troubling news for all of us then.” The minister said.

 

“Where would he go?” The king asked, a light coming on in his eyes.

 

“I don't know where the Sages go or why.” The minister responded.

 

“Not the Sage, the Hero.” The king said. “If the Hero's truly been reborn, he's seen that my daughter has been kidnapped. It's been broadcast all over the news for the last day and a half. Would it be reasonable to think that this would somehow 'awaken' him?” He reasoned.

 

“If I read the Sacred texts correctly, maybe sir. Hypothetically speaking.” The minister responded, seeing where the king was going with it. “At some point in time he would have to pay a visit to the Sacred Grove to retrieve the Master Sword. We still have the temple ruins under strict guard there. No one enters the Sacred Grove without authorization from the royal family.”

 

“Yes, the standing orders are to shoot trespassers on sight.” The king remembered. He then said, “Get me the guard captain for the Sacred Grove command post on the line.”

 

“Your majesty?” The minister asked.

 

“If this is happening again, we may not be able to stop it, but we might at least be able to make it easier for the one who can.” The king said. “If the Hero really is reborn, he'll be drawn to the Master Sword. Do you really want our guardsmen standing in his way?”

 

The minister responded quickly, “I'll place the call right now, your majesty.”

 

A few minutes later, the king was having a conversation with a very nervous guard captain over the telephone. “Captain,” he began the conversation, “I am sending you by fax a portrait of a certain individual that the minister of defense and I believe may try and enter the Sacred Grove as deep as the Master Sword sanctuary.”

 

“Of course, your majesty, he won't get by us.” The guard captain responded confidently.

 

“You misunderstand, Captain.” The king corrected him. “You are to allow him entry to wherever he wants to go. Do not, I repeat, do not try and stop him. If he requests an escort down into the Grove, give it to him. Under no circumstances are you or your men to engage him in combat, is that clear? If he is the man I believe him to be, you will be doing so at the risk of your own lives. I am sending the portrait now.” The king looked to the minister of defense who had scanned the portrait into the facsimile machine and sent it.

 

“Okay, your majesty it looks like we've got it.” The guard captain paused for a minute. “Uh, your majesty, is this some kind of mistake? I think you sent us a religious image instead of the individual's photograph.”

 

“No captain, this is no mistake, and I assure you it is no joke. I am deadly, deadly serious. This individual will most likely be a teenage young man about the same age as my daughter. He will answer to the name of 'Link.' If I am correct, he will attempt to draw the sword from its resting place in the sanctuary.” The king explained.

 

“I... I understand sir. And if he is unable to pull the sword from its pedestal? Do we arrest him then?” The captain asked.

 

“Unless I am grossly mistaken, that won't be necessary. If he is an imposter, then the sword may not let him leave the Grove alive.” The king said. It was a cold, harsh reality. But this was a cold, harsh game which had been begun, and the rules were set down eons ago.

 

“Yes, your majesty. We'll take that under advisement.” The Guard Captain replied, understanding the serious nature now of what he was being asked to do. He then asked with a little trepidation in his voice, “Is this really happening, your majesty? Could it really be possible?” The guard captain had never been a very religious man. He had doubted if the old stories were even true, or just made up fairy tales.

 

“I'm not sure myself, Captain. But if it is, we need to do everything we can to help him for my daughter's sake, and for all our sakes.” King Daphnes told him. “See to it my orders are followed, Captain.”

 

“As you command, your majesty. I'll send the orders to all the men right now. We won't do anything to stop him. I just hope he realizes we're friendlies.” The Captain replied.

 

“As do I, Captain.” The King responded. “As do I.”

 

* * *

 

Talon had been brought with armed escort out of the great library and up into the underground city's higher levels which opened into a great cavern with an expansive underground lake. There was a strange twilight lighting to the city caused by an orange glow coming from the lake. When Talon had inquired of Daniel what was causing it, he replied that they thought it was some kind of phosphorescent algae that gave the underground world its own thirty-five hour day and night cycle.

 

“Is this Atlantis?” Talon asked him as he surveyed the buildings of the once great city around him.

 

“No.” Daniel responded. “This city was abandoned due to what we think was a plague about two hundred years ago. We're just here studying it, trying to learn about its inhabitants, and how they connect with the Ancients, your ancestors in fact. We think the first inhabitants of Hyrule originally came from this city actually. That would explain the presence of the descriptive and linking books joining the two worlds.” He said, slipping into his teaching mode. “Our government sealed it off from the general public about twenty or thirty years ago when we made the connection with it and the people we call the Ancients. Atlantis is several thousand miles away, on the opposite side of the planet, in fact.”

 

“I see. So, will I then be able to make my case to those who must make the decision?” Talon asked. “Have I traveled so far only to find I have not come far enough?”

 

“No, I've already made contact with Stargate Command at Atlantis. We'll be picked up and taken there any time now.” Daniel said.

 

“But I thought you said it was several thousand miles away? Won't that take days to travel, even by aircraft? And we are deep underground.” Talon questioned in confusion.

 

Daniel said nothing but just moved closer to him, folded his hand together in front of him and nodded, saying, “you might want to brace yourself for this.”

 

“For what?” Talon asked. Then a sudden wave of nausea and disorientation overtook him as he and Daniel were quickly consumed by a blue flash of light and were gone.

 

When Talon came to himself again he was standing in a circular conference room. A circular table ran around the room, and several men sat at the table, one of which he recognized immediately. On the table was a small round black device with a glowing light that rotated around its circumference.

 

“What... what just happened?” Talon said as he tried to catch his breath. His head felt light and he had difficulty concentrating. “My head...” He said, blinking several times.

 

“Yeah, sorry about that. I should have warned you about our transportation. The _General Hammond_ happened to be in orbit around Earth at the moment. What you just experienced was an Asgard transport beam. It'll pass.” Daniel said.

 

“In orbit?” Talon said. “You mean spaceflight? My people have made some successful experiments with it in our recent past as well, though your Asgard spell casters could learn to to balance out their transport magic a little better.”

 

“Yep.” Was all Daniel could say to that, turning to the other men seated around the table.

 

A balding man with black rimmed glasses stood up and motioned to Talon with his hand towards a chair around the table, saying something in a polite tone in an unfamiliar language. Talon looked to Daniel who said, “Talon, this is Mr. Woolsey. He's in charge of this city. He said, 'Welcome to Atlantis, please take a seat.'”

 

Talon nodded to the balding man and moved to sit down. Mr. Woolsey then said something else, and Daniel translated again, “Mr. Woolsey also wants you to know that this device neutralizes your abilities as a Sage for the time being. The effect is only temporary, but it's for our protection.”

 

“I understand. I would do the same in your place.” Talon responded. Daniel relayed that to Mr. Woolsey, who smiled.

 

“You I recognize, Colonel Shepherd, from my childhood.” Talon said to the dark haired man sitting across from him who wore an olive green uniform of some sort. “That day you first told my mother of my father's passing.”

 

Colonel Shepherd nodded, “That wasn't a really a good memory for me.” He said, keeping his eyes on him.

 

“Nor for me. I loved my father dearly, Colonel.” Talon responded. “Imagine my shock at seeing his face again on the television.”

 

Mr. Woolsey said something, and this time Colonel Shepherd translated, “He says why don't you tell us about it, and about what brought you here?”

 

So Talon spent the next several minutes relating everything he knew, and the reason for his desperate action of traveling back in time and coming to them. They listened patiently, every once in a while stopping and asking questions. One man in particular, Doctor McKay, asked questions relating to Hyrule's level of technology when that came into play. He answered everyone's questions as honestly and completely as he could. He didn't need his abilities as a Sage to know these men didn't trust him any more than Daniel Jackson had when he first made contact with him. He would gain nothing by hiding anything from them.

 

They then talked among themselves in their own language as though he wasn't there. It was a bit rude, but he said nothing, instead paying attention to their body language and facial expressions. Doctor McKay clearly didn't trust him, and seemed to be arguing against him. Strangely, Daniel Jackson seemed to be rebutting Doctor McKay's arguments with calm reason. Colonel Shepherd asked Doctor McKay several questions which must have been of a scientific or technical nature because the man's whole demeanor changed as he began thinking about what was asked of him. Mr. Woolsey seemed to value Colonel Shepherd's and Daniel Jackson's opinions most of all. Finally, they turned their attention back to Talon.

 

“Can we assume that the amount of time that passes here shouldn't matter because of the portal of time there?” Mr. Woolsey asked through Daniel Jackson.

 

“Yes. The portal's connection isn't calibrated so finely that it is down to the minute, but upon my return I shouldn't have been gone for more than a few hours no matter how much time I spend here.” Talon responded.

 

“So we can afford a couple of days to make proper preparations?” Mr. Woolsey pressed.

 

“Then you will help me?” Talon asked hopefully.

 

“Yeah. If something bad's going down in Hyrule it could eventually bleed back to us.” Colonel Shepherd said. “Especially if it's another 'Demon King' person like the last one.”

 

Daniel quickly translated the brief exchange for Mr. Woolsey and the balding man added, “To put it bluntly, your grace, we have no way of cutting off the passage between our worlds without reducing yours to smoking ash. That means anything bad enough to cause two very powerful ascended beings to return to mortal form to fight it becomes our problem as well. But we have tools and technology to deal with such threats that you may not.”

 

“Thank you, sirs.” Talon said gratefully.

 

“Give us a couple of days to get everything together and then we'll send a team back with you. Until then, you may enjoy our hospitality under escort.” Colonel Shepherd told him. “Doctor Jackson here will show you around until we're ready to go.”

 

“Thank you again.” Talon said.

 

* * *

 

Link had taken Epona off the main paved road around mid-morning and was now following a strange dirt path through the Faron woods. The forest trees around him were somewhat comforting and familiar as he road the brown and white horse along them.

 

Epona whinnied at him questioningly when he left the pavement with her several hours before. “I don't know girl,” he responded, “I just feel like this is the way we need to go.”

 

The hard packed path looked like it was originally made by horses coming to and from somewhere at the other end, though Link couldn't imagine what would be back in that part of the woods that anyone would want to see. “What am I doing going through this when I need to get up into Hyrule Field?” He questioned himself.

 

The horse trail passed by a crystal clear pond fed by a spring that was partially enclosed by a rock and stone barrier. He dismounted from Epona there to let her drink and get some water himself. There was something familiar about this spring, he thought. Looking around, there was something familiar about this whole place like he had been there before. Though he knew he had never traveled this far north in his life. “What is going on with me, girl?” He asked the horse. Not wanting to comment, she pretended not to hear the question and continued to drink. “Yeah, thanks to you too.” He said to her silence sarcastically.

 

Shadows began to fall on the spring and Link looked up through the trees to see if clouds had come in. It would be miserable to be caught in the rain for both horse and rider. But the sky was clear and sunny through the branches. Link began to get a bad feeling, and unstrapping his shield from his back, he slipped it over his right arm, drawing his trusted sword with his left. In a brief moment he remembered that the edges of his sword was intentionally left blunt for competition. He would have to remedy that with a good stone as soon as he got the chance. If he got the chance.

 

The shadows moved like living things towards the center of the spring from which he heard a young girl's scream, “HELP ME! PLEASE! SOMEONE HELP ME!” He couldn't see anyone, but he jumped into the water towards the cry for help.

 

As soon as his riding boots hit the water the scene exploded and changed as the three shadows materialized into dark, bulbous dog like creatures with gleaming, cruel yellow eyes. They were snapping and terrorizing what looked to be a young, barefoot teenage girl with flowing bright pink and blond hair in a swimsuit that covered very little of her. Link wanted to cover his eyes for the sight out of modesty except for the enormous, luminescent gossamer wings that protruded from her back. He had never seen one of these creatures before either, but he had heard about them from his uncle. They were rarely seen in modern Hyrule. They were supposed to be creatures of great magical power, but this Great Fairy looked terrified at the monster shadow dogs snapping and growling at her.

 

“Help me!” She screamed in terror again, and that was enough to get Link's legs pumping further into the water. His mind went blank as the muscles and tendons of his body seemed to take on a life and memory of their own. He gave a great yell as he launched himself into a spin into the air bringing his sword around to plunge it into the first shadow beast he aimed for. It's body went down as Link's blade severed the beast's head and sent it a distance into the water.

 

The other two dogs wasted no time in attempting to avenge their fallen comrade and Link met the first with the point of his sword running into the beast's mouth and down its throat, the second attacked from the other side and Link's right arm instinctively reacted with the shield bashing it in the head and sending it rebounding from its attempted strike. The first beast went slack on Link's sword while he drew it out and quickly met the second's next attack with a quick thrust up through its chest as it leaped upon him. The third beast quit struggling after a minute.

 

All was quiet, and then the bodies of the three monsters vanished with a puff of black smoke. “You don't see that every day.” He commented on their disappearance. Though he had seen it before, he mind told him. Many, many times before.

 

“Are they gone?” The Fairy asked, opening up her eyes, which had been filled with tears.

 

“Yes, lady, they're gone. Are you hurt?” He asked, not even sure if a Great Fairy could be hurt, but she looked so frail and helpless.

 

“No,” she sniffed once, “I don't think so.” She was trembling still as she said, “You saved me.”

 

“Well, uh... yeah, I guess I did, but...” Link began to say as he replaced his sword and shield. The truth was, he didn't know what to say to that. He had just heard someone in trouble and he reacted, like he always did. “Well, I'm just glad you're okay. I was passing by along the trail and I heard you scream.”

 

The Great Fairy looked at his face then, and she stared as if in awe. Link began to feel self-conscious as she said nothing for what seemed like an eternity, then she said, “It's you isn't it? It's been so long since I've seen you, but I should have known you would be the one to rescue me like you did before.” Her whole tone of voice became one of almost worshipful admiration. “Thank you for finding me again when I needed it.”

 

Link was taken aback, “I'm sorry, I don't think we've met before. My name's Link, and I...” He didn't get the chance to finish as she held up one finger to his lips. “Shhh, my Hero.” She said. “We have met at many times in the past, and in many places you and I. Your memories may be buried, but believe that mine are not. I am surprised to see you have returned to us, but I am glad of it.” She giggled, and the whole spring radiated with her laughter.

 

She turned her hand over and produced a delicate glass vial with a stopper. She put the vial to her eyes and let the tears from her eyes flow into them. The liquid which was collected glowed with a pink light all of its own. She replaced the stopper and pressed the vial into his hands. “Take these tears of mine Hero, for in them are contained all of my heart, and in them can be found healing from any wound. Use them wisely for all our sakes.” He handled the glass vial carefully, as though it was a fragile egg. She laughed again and said, “Have not fear for the delicacy of the vessel. Fairy glass cannot break even if your horse were to balance on it with all four hooves.” He then slipped the vial into his front jacket pocket, realizing the value of the gift he had been given. “Thank you, lady.” He said, bowing his head slightly because it seemed the thing to do. “You would bow to me?” She said in disbelief. “You have not changed, humble Hero. For that again, I am glad. Now go, fulfill your quest.”

 

Link then remembered where he was and what he was doing, and so he asked, “I am not sure of my quest, lady. I felt like I should take this trail with my horse, but I don't know where it leads to. Our princess has been taken by a dragon. I don't even know how I know it was a dragon, but I do. That was up in Hyrule Field, but I feel like I need to follow this road, and I am so confused right now. Can you tell me at least where I am going?” Some of his emotions from the previous day spilled into his voice, and he became embarrassed at how much he said. He certainly didn't sound like the confident Hero to himself.

 

The fairy listened patiently to him, and then looked at him with an almost maternal compassion and said, “It is disturbing news you bring me, my Hero. Disturbing news indeed. But I assure you that you are indeed on the right trail, for this path leads to the Sacred Grove of the Temple of Time. There you will find an old friend, perhaps more than one, who will aid you in your search for our beloved Princess.” She told him. “And now I have detained you for too long. Go with my blessing, my Hero, and if you should ever need my help or the help of my sisters, find our fountains and we will give you all the aid within our power.” And with that, she quickly pressed her lips to his, giggled girlishly, and then vanished into a thousand points of light, and all was quiet again in the natural fountain.

 

Link just stood there motionless for some time before he waded back out of the water. Strangely he felt strong and powerful and full of energy in spite of his hours of riding, and the monsters he had just fought. “Let's go.” He told Epona, and then mounted her, practically leaping into her saddle. Taking one last look at the fountain, he then urged Epona down the trail again.

 

* * *

 

Hours later, Link and Epona emerged from the forgotten horse trail into a clearing in the woods. At one end of the clearing stood a great, massive Deku tree that appeared to have been growing for centuries if not longer. A wooden path carved out of roots and dirt led up to the base of it, though from that distance he couldn't see why there might be. To the left of him looked to be the ruins of an old wooden structure, though it was so old, he couldn't tell what it might have been at one time. It was mostly quiet in the clearing as he took in the whole sight in front of him until he nudged Epona forward slowly.

 

It's off to the left. The thought passed through his mind. The pathway is off to the left. Not knowing what that meant he rode Epona towards to his left, what he believed was slightly north or northwest. A few minutes later he came upon a chain link fence with signs posted every few feet, “NO ENTRY BY ORDER OF THE ROYAL FAMILY – USE OF DEADLY FORCE AUTHORIZED – AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY.” Razor wire ran along the top of the fence all the way across the considerable distance as far as he could see.

 

“They're really serious about this aren't they girl?” He asked his horse. “I wonder what they've got back there they don't want anyone to see.” He said.

 

You need to go down there, again his thoughts were bidding him onwards. “You've got to be kidding me.” He said in response, arguing with his own mind. But he urged his mount on along the fence, trying to see if there was a way through. Not far down he came upon a guard tower which had been erected behind the fence, and some kind of a gate had been set into it. He rode up to the gate, but didn't make any attempt to cross it. “As long as we stay on the right side of it, we should be fine, eh girl?

 

“Halt!” A gray suited guardsmen called out, and Link turned his head to look at him. The guardsmen came out from behind the gate. He was carrying what Link knew was the kind of rifle that only Hyrule's military forces were permitted to use, the kind which could reduce a man to shredded meat in a matter of seconds. He wondered if his shield could stop the rounds.

 

“You aren't permitted to be here, sir. This is a restricted area. I'm going to have to ask you to...” The guardsmen looked directly up into Link's face. “I'll be damned.” He said instead of the speech he was going to give about turning his horse around and going back the way he came.

 

“I'm sorry?” Link said.

 

“What's your name, sir?” The guardsman asked.

 

“Link.” Link responded. “Link Faroson.” He had thought to offer to just ride off, but something within him refused to do anything of the sort. Stand your ground against these men, it kept telling him.

 

“Can you dismount and come with me, sir?” The guardsman framed it as a request, but Link knew it wasn't. He quickly dismounted, but didn't offer up anything else. “Epona comes with me.” He told the guardsman.

 

“That isn't a problem, sir. There's a place inside the gate for you to tie her up. Don't worry, we'll take good care of her.” The guardsman replied in a professional manner. “Please follow me inside the gate.”

 

Link took Epona's reins and followed the guardsman to the other side where there was an entire command post for the Kingdom Guardsmen set up, including a building for sleeping quarters.

 

“What is this place?” Link asked.

 

“This is the entry point for the Sacred Grove, sir. I was under the impression that you were informed of that.” The guardsman responded as he showed where Link could tie Epona up next to other horses used by the guard to navigate the uneven terrain.

 

“You seem to know who I am and what I'm doing here.” Link observed after he had seen to Epona.

 

“We received orders earlier today to expect you, and to give you unimpeded access to the Grove. We are not to molest you or stop you in any way, and to render whatever assistance we can give.” The guardsman replied. “My name is Guard Captain Jovani.”

 

Link was completely taken by surprise. They were expecting me? The military was expecting me to come to a restricted area that no one knows is here? What is going on? He wondered. “Who gave those orders?” Link asked.

 

“Our orders come directly from King Daphnes Johnson himself, sir. I will escort you personally anywhere you want to go or see as if you were his majesty himself.”

 

Towards the canyon, the inner voice urged Link. “I need to go towards the canyon.” He said.

 

“Right this way, sir, follow me. Will you be needing to go into the Grove?” Captain Jovani asked.

 

Yes. “Yes.” Link responded.

 

They came to the edge of a great canyon where a system of bridges, checkpoints, and elevators had been set up. Heavily armed gray uniformed guards patrolled every checkpoint and every bridge. Large gun emplacements were placed at key points to cover the entry through the canyon completely. Good, the thought came unbidden to Link's mind. This is good. But Link said nothing. He just took in the entire sight. The other guardsmen who saw him stared at him as though in awe. He caught the sight of one man passing a wad of banknotes to another who had reached out his hand, mouthing the words, “pay up.”

 

“So, you're on a fencing team?” The guard captain asked him.

 

“Huh?” Link said, having been focusing on all of the security measures around him. His sense brought in all the information he needed instinctively to avoid, circumvent, or neutralize every threat around him he realized. He had been thinking it through without meaning to.

 

“Your sweatshirt.” The guard captain pointed out.

 

Link looked down, he was still wearing his green fencing sweatshirt. “Yeah, Ordon Provincial Champions two years in a row.”

 

“I was on my High School team in Eldin.” The Captain went on. “As I recall, we kicked your collective butts in the inter-provincial semi-finals.”

 

“Not when I was on the team.” Link said matter of factly. “Not in the last two years.” In fact he had personally trounced Kakariko's best varsity swordsman when they came to town for competition.

 

“That was held at Sariaton in Lanayru this past year wasn't it?” The Captain asked.

 

“No. It was held at Ordonville the last two years. I've never been out of Ordon before now.” Link responded.

 

“Is that a fact?” The captain replied, though it was more of a statement than a question. He became pensive and quiet after that, not offering up much more conversation. They came to the caged elevators that led them down into the long descent to the grove.


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter 29

 

The sea breeze was warm and salty as it brushed along Talon's face. The ocean in front of him was so expansive it seemed to stretch on forever. “How I have missed this.” He said aloud, ostensibly to Daniel who stood at the railing of the east pier near him. Two Special Forces soldiers stood only a few feet away, weapons in hand. One of them carried the black disk of the anti-prior device which blocked his Sage's abilities in a backpack. Talon was never permitted to be outside of the device's range. “For two hundred years, I have only been able to travel so far as the walls of the Temple, and my duty, will allow me. This,” He gestured to the peaceful scene in front of him with his good hand, “is a breath of fresh air.”

 

“Yeah, I'll bet.” Daniel responded. “So this is your first time out of the Temple of Time in two hundred years?”

 

“Yes. Since the invention of the television device, I have been able to see many places again through the monitor, but I have been forbidden to travel to them.” Talon responded.

 

“That must be rough.” Daniel told him.

 

“Don't misunderstand me,” Talon said. “The Lady Hylia took mercy on me in allowing me to live, and since my imprisonment I understand how foolish my actions were. I am thankful for her kindness in that regard, and I have been grateful for the chance I was given to make restitution through my service. But I am also thankful for this one chance to breath the fresh sea air again. Thank you for that, Daniel Jackson. It is a kindness I will not forget when I return home.”

 

It had been two days since his appearance in the cavern city of D'ni and his arrival at Atlantis. True to their word, the people from Earth had been hospitable and had allowed him freedom of movement with an escort throughout the city, except in their restricted areas which held no interest for Talon anyway. He spent those two days listening to the conversations of those around him. Enjoying the sight of so many people, his favorite place to be was out on Atlantis' piers where off duty personnel spent time with the families many had been able to bring to the city since it had returned to Earth from the Pegasus Galaxy years prior. He heard genuine laughter in the background noise of the pier, and the sounds of life all around him. His twenty-five year old face seemed to have a permanent smile etched into it as he took in the activity around him. His nights had been spent out there as well, laying on the pier and watching the stars and constellations in the heavens. They weren't his stars or constellations, but they would do.

 

Daniel pressed his hand to his earpiece communicator and said into it, “Okay, we'll be right there.” He then told Talon, “We need to get going. They're ready for us.”

 

“I don't suppose a few more minutes would be possible?” Talon asked, knowing what the answer would be.

 

“I'm afraid not.” Daniel responded, empathetically. “They want us right away.”

 

They left the pier and took the transport system back to the central tower and almost all the way to the top where sat the conference room that he had materialized within two days before. As before, the other three men, Rodney McKay, Mr. Woolsey, and Colonel Shepherd were waiting for them, as well as another balding man with a beard and spectacles whom Talon had met in passing. All but Mr. Woolsey were wearing some kind of black military suit of the kind he had seen Hyrule's royal guardsmen wear when they had to go into combat. They all carried backpacks, weapons, and other gear, obviously packed for a long journey not knowing what they might encounter.

 

Mr. Woolsey addressed Daniel, and Talon's escort quickly left the room. Noticing his questioning look, Colonel Shepherd told him, “He needs to get suited up. The _Hammond's_ standing by waiting for us to be ready for transport. He'll be back in a few minutes.”

 

“Are all of you coming with me?” Talon asked.

 

“Myself, Rodney, Daniel, and I think you've met Dr. Lee.” Colonel Shepherd motioned to the heavyset man with the spectacles who didn't appear to be fully comfortable in the mission attire. “He's the closest thing to a Hyrule and 'alternate reality' expert we've got, so he's coming with us this time. Maybe he can help us figure out who the new bad guy is, and how to deal with him.”

 

“You mean video game expert.” Rodney quipped in Hylian.

 

Dr. Lee said something, and Rodney appeared to shrug it off, saying to the other two, “Doesn't understand a word of Hylian.”

 

“I'm sorry, video game expert?” Talon asked, confused.

 

“Computer games? Haven't they invented...uh?” Rodney began to try and explain.

 

“I've seen such games advertised and talked about on the television, Doctor McKay. They are relatively recent to us, but not unheard of. I just don't understand why such an expert would be necessary.” Talon replied.

 

“That's going to be a long conversation best left for another time.” Colonel Shepherd said as he saw Rodney gearing up for just that long explanation. “But I promise it will be an interesting one.”

 

“Indeed it must be.” Talon replied.

 

Daniel came back in a few minutes after that with his own gear and supplies, and their team was fully assembled. Mr. Woolsey gave his people last minute instructions in their own language, and then he spoke into his own communicator. The next thing Talon knew was that feeling of nausea and light-headedness as the five men were consumed rapidly into a blue flash of light.

 

* * *

 

Five forms materialized out of thin air and light in the great hall of the Temple of Time. It had been two days since the old woman had seen her future successor, but just over a year since she had sent two of the four strangers home to their own world with the warning not to return.

 

“Impa?” Doctor McKay asked in surprise, he then looked as if he was going to continue the conversation, and Impa stopped him immediately.

 

“Tell me nothing, Rodney McKay. The time line must not be tampered with. I am only acting as a point of passage for you into our future. You must not linger here.” She told all of them.

 

One of the men, a man strange to her, leaned over to the man she knew as Colonel John Shepherd and, by the tone of his voice, asked him something, to which he responded in his own language. He then stared at her and the interior of the temple as he looked around in a kind of worshipful awe, mouthing the word, “wow,” several times.

 

She could not, would not, look into their minds at this juncture to discover what they knew that she did not. If she did, it might change what would happen because it would change her response to what would happen. So she left their mysteries to remain mysteries.

 

She gestured towards the pedestal where the Master Sword remained firmly embedded in this timeless place as well as in the ruins outside of the interior of the true temple, and the floor of the hall opened up to reveal the portal of time assembling itself into position and spinning, the symbols on its face lighting up as it did so.

 

“Good luck, gentlemen. If all goes well, I will see you again upon your return.” She told the men. Daniel leaned over and translated for the heavyset stranger when he gave a quizzical look. Impa smiled at him, and he smiled back and waved. She couldn't repress a slight laugh. The man seemed like a child in a confectionery and she didn't know why.

 

Her successor Talon led the other men into the portal, and then they were gone, and Impa was alone once more. She wondered how long it would be before the portal would come to life on its own again.

 

* * *

 

“Who is this?” The secretary who answered the phone asked. “Wait just one minute, I'll transfer you immediately!”

 

“Well, that's a better reception than my first.” Talon told Colonel Shepherd who had come to his apartment with him. After they arrived back into Talon's own time he attempted to contact the palace one last time, hoping that the Princess might finally be in. They arrived back later than he had hoped. It had been almost two days since he left according to the wooden clock which hung on the wall of his private residence, and a lot could happen in two days.

 

“Hello?” An older, masculine voice had picked up the phone. “Is this Talon?”

 

“Yes,” Talon responded irritated. “I've been trying to reach the Princess Zelda since Saturday. To whom am I speaking?”

 

“I'm sorry, you grace. This is King Daphnes, and we've been trying to reach you since Saturday night. I hope you will forgive my daughter's secretary.” The masculine voice said. “Where have you been?”

 

Talon's irritation dissipated, “When I could raise no one through any means, I...” he searched for the words to try and explain, “went for help in the only means I had available to me. The Hero has been reborn, and he is the same age as your daughter, I am certain of it. Where is the princess, your majesty? I believe it is a sign that she and all of Hyrule may be in terrible danger.”

 

The king let out a sad, troubled sigh, his voice became filled with emotion, “My daughter was... she was abducted Saturday night from her car as she was driving to speak with you personally. We've been trying to contact you, and every other Sage for two days now. No one has responded.”

 

“Abducted?” Talon said with alarm. “By who?”

 

“All the signs say it was a dragon, as do the witnesses who survived the attack. It happened in Hyrule Field not far from Castleton on the Trans-Hyrule one.” The king said sadly.

 

“Great goddesses have mercy.” Talon exclaimed. “I was too late.”

 

“We all were, grand-uncle.” The king said, using a more familiar term of address including Talon as a part of what was a family crisis. It moved Talon in a way he hadn't been for a long time. “You said you went for help?”

 

“Yes, I brought men from the past. Men who helped to destroy the Demon King with my father.” Talon told him. “Colonel John Shepherd, Doctor Rodney McKay, and two of their companions, Doctor Daniel Jackson, and a Doctor Bill Lee.”

 

“Your grace, I have to add to that list of heroes. About an hour ago, I received a call from the Sacred Grove command post. The Hero showed up on horseback wearing a green hooded sweatshirt and leather jacket.” The king told him.

 

“So it's true then. They were certain it was him?” Talon asked.

 

“It was a positive identification. They're escorting him to the Grove on my orders.” The king replied.

 

“I understand.” Talon responded, filled with conflicting feelings about his new visitor. “He need not enter the temple to pull the Sacred Blade, and it may be better if he does not. I will send these men out to meet him. Please notify the command post not to shoot them the minute they set foot out of the Temple doorway.”

 

“You have my word. My soldiers will give any aid they need or there will be hell to pay.” The king replied. “Please, tell them to save my daughter. She's all I have left of her mother.”

 

Shepherd had been listening to the entire conversation since the speaker on the phone receiver was so loud. He motioned to Talon to let him take the phone and speak with him. Surprised, Talon nevertheless gave him the handset. “Your majesty this is Colonel John Shepherd, at one time the Supreme Commander of your military.”

 

“Colonel Shepherd?” The king asked in amazement.

 

“I just want you to know that we _are_ getting Zelda back. That's a promise.” He then added in an undertone, “We failed her once. Never again.”

 

“Thank you, Colonel.” The king responded.

 

He handed the telephone back to Talon, who had little else to say, and then it was hung up. Colonel Shepherd then turned to leave the residence to rejoin his men in the great hall, when Talon put his hand on his shoulder to stop him. “Wait for a minute, would you Colonel?”

 

Shepherd looked at him in confusion. Talon walked calmly over to a chest which sat in the corner of the room and opened it. He reached inside with his one good hand and pulled out what looked to be a medium sized package, handing it to him. The package was heaver than Shepherd expected it to be.

 

“What is this?” He asked the Sage.

 

“When you see my father, give this to him as a gift from me. The Hero needs to be properly suited for the task ahead of him.” Talon told him.

 

Shepherd nodded at the cryptic explanation and put the package under his arm, as the two left the room.

 

* * *

 

“Say again?” Guard Captain Jovani asked over the two way radio. “You're kidding.” He then replied to whatever he was hearing. “Alright, I'll tell him. Be sure to radio the men at the doorway.” Then there was a response, and he said, “Good, we don't need to be cutting down friendlies. Jovani out.”

 

Link paid no attention to his conversation as he stepped into the Sacred Grove, and immediately felt as though he had come home. “I know this place.” He said out loud. “I don't know how, but I know this place. I've been here so many times, it's like coming home.”

 

“Oh? When was that?” Jovani asked him, curious, never having seen the teenager before. Jovani had been stationed guard at the grove for ten years.

 

“I... I can't remember.” Link admitted. “But I _know_ this place. Over there,” Link pointed, “was where the skull kid used to play his games with me. And over there,” Link pointed, and then became silent for a minute, “over there was where we found him dead.” He said quietly, grasping for a conscious memory that refused to come.

 

“Well, I just got word to expect some friendly company near the Temple in a few minutes. People you may recognize.” Jovani said.

 

Link nodded, not sure of what to do with his memories. They seemed so jumbled and confused, but the closer he came to the center of the Grove, the stronger they fought to the surface. He was just a farm kid from Ordon who happened to be good with a sword, but his memories refused to let it go at that. I am more than that. His mind kept insisting, no matter how much he argued.

 

“I need to go in there.” Link said, pointing to an archway that led deeper into the complex of ruins.

 

“Of course you do, sir.” Jovani responded, at this point refusing to be surprised by anything that happened that day.

 

Link led the way as they came out into the ruins of an enormous ancient building. The roof and sidewalls were almost completely gone. Some of the only features that had been left standing were some staircases, the outline of where the walls had been, and, curiously, the archway of the main doors seemed completely unravaged by time. Link made to reach those when Jovani told him, “I think what you'll be wanting to see, sir, can be gotten to around this way.” The guard captain steered him around down a flight of ruined steps and into what had been an immense great hall of marble, obsidian and gold.

 

Follow him. The voice within him said, and Link acquiesced, but he didn't feel done with the archway, not yet as the memory of his wooden flute in his pocket came to him. For what reason, he didn't know.

 

Link then took over as he left the guard captain's side and when forward through the ruined structure up a flight of stairs and through another set of massive doors that had long lain off their hinges. At the back of the structure was a sight he recognized immediately.

 

In a stone pedestal up on a dais was a sword embedded vertically almost up to its sapphire blue hilt. The sword gleamed with its own inner light it seemed. Link was drawn to it without thought and without will.

 

“I should warn you sir.” Jovani called out. “I'd be doing you a disservice if I didn't warn you. That sword's only supposed to recognize one master. It'll kill anyone else that touches it.” He was genuinely concerned for the kid. If he wasn't the Hero, he was at the least likable enough.

 

Link looked back at him and nodded in acknowledgment. So then what do I do? He asked himself. If I grip the sword, there's no going back. I'm committed. Either I'm the Hero, or I'm not and I'm dead, either way, nothing will ever be the same again. He then said a prayer to Farore. He had always felt close to that goddess for some reason, and he prayed for the courage to do what needed to be done.

 

He gripped the hilt with both hands, and began to pull upwards. Immediately there was a feminine, slightly computerized voice which called out, “Recognition accepted.” And the sword began to slide free. “Master Link accepted.” The voice called out as the sword came free of its pedestal.

 

The guard captain couldn't believe his eyes. He would have sworn the young man would have been dead by now, or had at least been unable to pull the sword. “Great goddesses,” he exclaimed, “the legends were true.” Involuntarily, he fell to his knees, not sure of what else he could or should do. He traced a series of triangles around his chest and head, something he hadn't done since he was a child.

 

A blue and silver young woman materialized out of thin air and addressed the young Hero. “Master Link, it has been a long time. It is good to see you. I calculated a ninety-nine point nine percent chance that we would never meet again. It appears I was in error.”

 

“I guess so.” Link agreed, not sure of what to say. Her name came to his mind, “Fi. Your name is Fi.”

 

“Indeed it is, Master Link, and I am at your service until the very end.” Fi responded.

 

* * *

 

Shepherd almost couldn't believe what his eyes were telling him. He still had the package Talon had given him under his arm, and he knew from the phone call (boy that was weird, a phone call in Hyrule), that Link had shown up, but the last time he had seen the young man who had been one of his best friends was when he voluntarily went to his own death. He had opened the gateway to a poisonous Sacred Realm and sacrificed himself to redeem his whole world. It had been a bad day for Shepherd.

 

“Link?!” He called out to the young man holding a very familiar Sword up in the ruins of the temple he had just been in. The young man was talking to another familiar figure, a blue an silver young lady that he knew to be a hologram of the sentient artificial intelligence of the Master Sword, Fi. These scene was eerily familiar to another one he had experienced three years, and what seemed like several lifetimes ago.

 

The young man's head shot to face him, and even from that distance, and in the dim light Shepherd could tell it was him, though what he was wearing was more modern (again, weird).

 

“Wow, it's really him, isn't it?” Rodney said, also viewing the scene. “It looks exactly like him. But what's with the clothes?”

 

“I don't know, let's go and talk to him and find out.” Shepherd said going up the ruined stairs to approach his old friend. “Hey, buddy,” He said in Hylian. “Long time no see!”

 

The hologram disappeared back into the sword, and the young man in front of him stared at him curiously, and then a faint glimmer of recognition came into his eyes. “I know you, I think.” Link said, as he removed one sword from the scabbard on his back and replaced it with the one he had just drawn.

 

“Yeah, you do, don't you remember?” Shepherd asked, a little concerned.

 

“No.” Link said honestly. “At least, I don't think I do. But your face looks really familiar to me. It's like this place. I have never been here before, and yet I know every inch of it as though I've spent a good part of my life here. If you know me, can you tell me what's happening to me? Please?” The boy almost begged him.

 

“Yeah, sure, I can try.” Shepherd told him, a little confused himself, but it was Link. He would do anything that needed to be done for him. “Why don't you come down with my friends and I and we'll try and piece things together for you.” Shepherd gestured towards the other three men with him.

 

“Alright.” Link responded, and then he stopped and looked at Shepherd again and said, “John. Your first name is John.”

 

“See, you do know me.” Shepherd nodded. “And there's at least one other person over there that you know too.”

 

As Link descended the steps with Shepherd he said, “All of these things, your name, this place, what to do and where to go, they're all coming to my mind when they seem to be needed, but I swear to you I have no idea where they're coming from. I'm just a high school junior from Ordonville. My uncle has a goat ranch just outside of town. I'm on the fencing team at school. But when I saw that the princess had been kidnapped on the news it was like someone had flipped a switch inside of me that I don't understand.”

 

“Okay,” Shepherd said in response, “well, we can try and fill in what details we know. But you're going to have to trust us on some of them. I don't think I'd even believe me, and I was there.”

 

They rejoined Daniel, Rodney and Bill. They had been speaking with a gray suited guardsman who seemed to be a little shaken up from the day's events. The guardsman stood at attention and crisply saluted Shepherd when he saw him, “Colonel Shepherd, sir!”

 

“At ease, Captain.” Shepherd said, noting the rank insignia on his collar.

 

“Sir, I've been given orders to facilitate anything you and your companions need.” The guardsman said, not relaxing in the slightest.

 

“We're probably going to need transportation soon, once we reach the top of the canyon again. You got anything like a ground car we can use?” Shepherd asked.

 

“Yes, sir. I'll order one prepped and ready for once we reach the top. Anything else, sir?” The captain said.

 

“Yeah, we may need maps, some supplies, and some of whatever you guys are using for currency right now for mission expenses.” Shepherd told him.

 

“Consider it done, sir. His majesty has ordered to give you whatever you require.” The captain said.

 

“A short history lesson might be useful too,” Daniel offered. “From what Talon said, it's been two hundred years since the last time any of us were here. We really need to get the lay of the land, so to speak.”

 

“Agreed. You want to fill us in on some details as we head back up, Captain?” Shepherd asked him.

 

“Of course. I'm not much of a history buff, but I'll do what I can. If I may speak frankly, after today, I'm definitely studying my history more, sir.” The Captain said.

 

“Noted.” Shepherd said, as the six men began to walk back up the long path to the Grove's entry point.

 

Shepherd then remembered the package under his arm. “Oh, by the way, Link.” He addressed the armed teenager next to him. “This is for you.” He handed him the bundle.

 

“It's kind of heavy. What is it?” Link asked, turning the wrapped bundle over in his hands.

 

“It's a present.” Shepherd said.

 

“From who?” Link asked.

 

“It's from your son.” Shepherd responded.

 

“Huh?!” Was Link's reply.

 

“We've got a lot of details to fill in, Link.” Shepherd responded. “A lot of details.”

 


	30. Chapter 30

Chapter 30

 

Zelda sat on the bed in her cell. There were no windows, and Maleficent had not visited her again. In the last two days, food had been brought to her by the sorceress's “servants;” ghastly, long dead skeletons of former inmates or their guards that had been re-animated with a sickly green light in their empty eye sockets. They made no move to threaten her, but neither would they allow her to leave the open door of her cell, standing in the damaged doorway to block her exit.

 

The truth was she had no idea how long it had been, but she had involuntarily fallen asleep twice since Maleficent's visit, so she was working on the assumption that it had been two days. Her waking hours had been spent memorizing every detail of the dimly lit stone cell.

 

She knew from her studies of ancient lore, that many of these ancient structures from Hyrule's past had secret passageways and rooms, and the arbiter's grounds were no exception. She had hoped to find some gust of air, some crack in the wall where one shouldn't be, something which could point her in the right direction, but there was nothing; at least not in this particular cell.

 

From her only conversation with the black clad woman, Zelda had gleaned some useful bits of information. The witch had no interest in killing her herself, only to use her as bait for someone much worse than herself, and as such she needed her alive. Not necessarily comfortable, but alive. She also learned that neither her captor nor her captor's prey was from their world. That disturbed her.

 

As the person in charge of the administration of Hyrule's temples for the royal family, Zelda had been privy to secrets held by the royal family which were shared with no one, absolutely no one else but the most trusted of their agents. One of those was the knowledge of the portal of time, and the linking books. In Hyrule's past, these were used by friends and at times foes alike to travel to and from their world from other worlds and realities.

 

Up until the secession of Eastern Hyrule from the United Kingdom of Hyrule, she knew, there had even been a substantial relationship with the Kingdom of Gondor in a world called “Middle-Earth.” But that public relationship had to be curtailed during the violent uprising which led to the formation of the eastern republic. Contacts were still maintained with Minas Tirith, but as with the Temple of Time itself, only by the royal family or their official representatives, and out of the public's knowledge.

 

But outside of these two entry points, unless the new threat came from outside their planet from space, she had no idea how either Maleficent or her target got there. And if they came from space, that presented another set of problems she didn't even want to think about. The kingdom's own space program was still very much in its infancy. They had yet to actually put anything more than artificial satellites into orbit, and this had been hailed as a great accomplishment.

 

Zelda then considered Maleficent herself. There was something familiar in her face and voice that she struggled to remembered. She wasn't Hylian, of that Zelda was certain, but she wasn't Ordonian either, and certainly not any of the other sentient species she encountered on a regular basis. But she reminded her strongly of one she had met a long, a very long time ago, almost as if in another lifetime.

 

“Oh good, you're awake again!” The witch's voice called out in the overly friendly manner she had chosen to adopt with Zelda. Zelda still didn't understand why she chose this particular pretense of familiarity, but the princess chose to partly play along to keep the sorceress talking. She needed more information from her, and the best way she could think to get it was to play nice.

 

“That makes things so much more convenient. I have some news, and some questions for you.” Maleficent told her.

 

“News?” Zelda asked.

 

“Yes,” she said as she entered the cell. “My raven has been flying to and fro in your little kingdom.” Maleficent told her, stroking the black bird which sat on her staff. “He tells me an interesting tale. It appears a green clad boy has appeared in some heavily guarded ruins and has pulled a sword from some stone.”

 

So it's true! The Hero has come and he's already drawn the Master Sword! She thought inwardly, trying to keep her face impassive. It didn't work as well as she had hoped, because Maleficent next said, “So you know who he is, and what that means. Please, enlighten me.”

 

How much should I say? Zelda quickly reasoned whether to tell her the truth, or to come up with something more believable to someone from outside their world.

 

“Please, dear; while I enjoy a good fiction as much as the next person, don't presume to lie to me. I will know.” An edge of seriousness and malice tinged Maleficent's words.

 

Okay, so a lie is out. Zelda thought, well, maybe she won't believe the truth. “I think he might be the legendary Hero of Hyrule coming to rescue me.” She said flatly. It was, after all the truth she asked for.

 

“I see.” Maleficent turned this information over in her mind, watching every expression on Zelda's face. “And what is the significance of the sword in the stone?”

 

Zelda paused. How much could she reveal to this person? “It's a Sacred Sword held in trust by the Royal Family for the Hero alone to use.” She said. Again, it was the truth, though not necessarily all of it.

 

“Let's say I believe you.” Maleficent said, her own face betraying nothing of what was going through her mind. “He is only one teenage boy, accompanied by four or five other men that seemed to appear out of nowhere in the ruins.”

 

That surprised Zelda, and it must have shown on her face, because Maleficent then said, “So that means something to you to, I see. I meant what I said dear, I have no interest in killing you myself, but I can't have your hero and his friends interfere with my own plans. How much of a threat to me are they?”

 

The Princess couldn't keep her “poker face.” Zelda just looked at her, her eyes shining hopefully, the rest of her face fighting hard not to smile.

 

“I see.” Maleficent said, understanding perfectly. “Well, I can't have that, now can I? Perhaps I will invite them here, myself, and explain the situation to them personally.”

 

The princess didn't reply, but instead tried to look as sincerely worried about that possibility as she could. Perhaps, she thought, the witch can bring my rescuers to me herself.

 

“I do so enjoy these little chats of ours, perhaps I will visit again very soon.” Maleficent said, as she turned to leave the cell, apparently satisfied that she had given Zelda cause to fear for them.

 

“You're a Great Fairy, aren't you?” Zelda asked to her back. Her mind had been turning it over the entire time they talked, and Zelda had been trying to place her face. “Only, where are your wings?”

 

Maleficent stopped abruptly, her hand tightening on her staff. She turned once more to face the princess, her unnaturally pale green eyes flashing with an anger she hadn't exposed before now.

 

I touched a nerve, Zelda observed. But with which observation?

 

Maleficent's smile returned, but the anger didn't fully dissipate, the princess could see. “That is a more complementary way of putting it than I have been called before, but yes, I suppose I am.” She didn't answer the question about her wings.

 

So it's her wings then, Zelda realized, and filed that information away. “In Hyrule, the Great Fairies preside over springs and natural fountains. Do you?”

 

Zelda could see a memory of a place forming behind Maleficent's eyes, one she longed to go home to, she could tell. “I did, once. It was a great enchanted moor where I was born and grew up, and filled with wondrous creatures and people; not unlike your Hyrule, actually. It was beautiful.” She said.

 

“You make it sound wonderful. Why would you want to leave?” Zelda asked.

 

“It was wonderful, dear, until I made the mistake of permitting a human to enter it.” Maleficent told her. “Do you truly want to know how I lost my wings, dear?” She said, her voice tinged with a sad anger born of a very personal pain. Zelda nodded, and the wingless dark fairy continued, “That human professed to love me and I believed him. Then when I was asleep, he cut my wings off so he could be a king in a nearby castle.”

 

Zelda was horrified. There was now no wonder what had turned this natural creature of light so very dark. “How could anyone be so cruel?” She asked in a near whisper, compassion filling her heart for her captor. She knew there were villains like that in the world, but she had never personally met one, at least not yet. “Is this the man you're pursuing?”

 

“What? Him? No! Not that pathetic wretch! Oh, don't you worry I've already taken care of him and his pathetic family.” She said with an evil grin. “No, the man I'm chasing has done something that merits my special attentions.”

 

“What could be worse than that kind of betrayal?” Zelda asked, fearing the answer.

 

“Killing someone who was dear to me, my dear.” Maleficent told her as she stroked her raven, and her whole demeanor became very serious and malicious, “And I will chase him to and into the gates of hell if I must, but he will not escape me. That is why I can't have your little friends interfering.”

 

“What if we could help?” Zelda then offered. “If this man is as evil as you say, then he is a threat to our world as well, and we would want him gone as well. The means notwithstanding. We don't have to be enemies. If you want him, perhaps we could help you get him.”

 

“A charming offer, dear.” Maleficent said, thoughtfully. “I will think on it.” And then she left Zelda's cell. And Zelda was alone again, turning the conversations she had held with the dark fairy over and over again in her mind, trying to understand the important clues that had just been handed to her.

 

* * *

 

Doctor Bill Lee was riding in the back seat of a gray, steam-powered, Hylian military vehicle that looked suspiciously like a U.S. military Humvee, as it traveled north late at night on the Trans-Hyrule One highway. The royal winged Triforce insignia was emblazoned in black on the two sides of the vehicle as well as the hood. He still couldn't believe he was actually there, in Hyrule. His second favorite video game world, ever.

 

I mean, okay, so it was a more modern, industrialized Hyrule, and of course he wasn't playing the game, although an argument could be made for that, but come on! It was Hyrule! He couldn't help but smile from the sheer geektasticness of the whole thing ever since he arrived. He couldn't believe that Colonel Shepherd and Mr. Woolsey actually asked him to join the mission this time!

 

“But, I'm not a field man,” he had told them modestly, though his eyes had been practically begging them. “And I don't speak the language. I don't know how much use I'd be.”

 

“We need someone on the team this time who can make certain 'connections' that may be outside of Doctor McKay's area of expertise.” Mr. Woolsey had tried to put it delicately. “We're facing an unknown threat, and we need to identify it quickly.”

 

“Huh?” Bill had said.

 

“What Mr. Woolsey's trying to say, Bill, is that we need an expert in video game lore, and you're the one who's come up with all the useful ideas relating to Hyrule in the past. We want to take you along so you can put together for us who might be threatening them now.” Colonel Shepherd translated.

 

Who knew his hours of combing Azeroth on his computer and dungeon crawling on his Wii would be the exact skills that would be needed on a mission? It was a dream come true for him.

 

He felt bad for the young man who sat in the front seat next to Colonel Shepherd. It had been necessary for him to leave his horse stabled back at the Sacred Grove command post. It just wasn't practical for him to try and keep up with the Humvee on horseback.

 

Bill grinned again when he thought of Link's reaction to what was in the package. It was a complete set of “Hero's clothes,” including chain mail and gauntlets that looked straight out of one of his games back home. “You've got to be kidding me.” He had said out loud, picking up the very renaissance looking tunic and breaches and looking at them. “The Sage of Time really wanted me to wear these?”

 

“It's traditional.” Colonel Shepherd had told him. “And the chain mail isn't so bad.”

 

“It's not the chain mail that'll get me laughed at.” He said unfolding the long green cap. “At least the chain mail will offer me some protection in a fight. What exactly is the hat for again?”

 

“It's all part of the whole “Hero of Hyrule” thing.” Shepherd told him. “It's a great honor, really.”

 

“If you say so.” Link had responded. “But I'm keeping my jacket.”

 

“Fair enough.” Shepherd had conceded.

 

Then it had been the rest of their team's turn to change their own U.S. military issued clothes for something a little more local. “It'll draw less attention and fewer questions, sir.” Captain Jovani had explained. And so Colonel Shepherd, Rodney, Daniel, and himself had all changed into gray tactical suits from the black ones they had worn from Atlantis, although Shepherd had insisted on keeping their own weapons and equipment. The three scientists' rank insignias were left blank while Jovani had found a general's insignia for Shepherd. “So no one questions you at all, sir.” He had also supplied them with military identification papers which had been hastily delivered from the palace.

 

“When did they have the time to come up with these?” Daniel had questioned. “We've only been here a few hours.”

 

“The royal magicians are adept at what they do, sir.” Jovani answered.

 

“Oh, right.” Daniel replied. “Magic.”

 

“The rules of the game, Danny-boy. The rules of the game.” Rodney had said smugly.

 

Of course, Daniel had been good to translate everything that had been going on for Bill. He couldn't make heads or tails out of the tongue twisting language that sounded like some weird combination of Japanese and Latin. He was just glad that the others translated everything for him so he didn't miss anything that might be important.

 

And speaking of important, “Hey guys, I've been think about who it might be that we're after.” he announced to the others in the vehicle.

 

“Oh, who?” Shepherd asked in English, keeping his eyes on the road. Like in both England and Japan, Hylians drove on the left side of the road, and the steering wheel was on the right. Fortunately, the controls were about the same as on an Earth vehicle, so Shepherd drove as Link didn't have a license yet.

 

“Well, there's only two ways anyone knows about to get into this world from the outside, right?” Bill said, trying to lay out his reasoning.

 

“Yeah, the stargate and the linking books.” Rodney offered. “We know this Bill, no one came through either, or else Talon would have known about it.”

 

“Exactly!” Bill continued, “So it only makes sense that they used another means that no one else from this world would have considered before. Remember how I thought of the Master Sword as a key blade, a _lamna clavia_?”

 

“Yeah.” Shepherd said. “That had something to do with another video game, right?”

 

“Precisely. It's from another game I've played a little of, _Kingdom Hearts_. In it there are these special swords shaped like keys that can open up doorways between worlds allowing passage between them. I'm just thinking maybe, if one key blade exists, maybe there are more.”

 

“And maybe someone used one to get into Hyrule?” Shepherd asked.

 

“Wait, isn't that the Mickey Mouse game?” Daniel asked.

 

“Oh boy.” Rodney said, “Just what we needed. 'Hi Mickey, how's Goofy these days? Seen Donald lately?' No thanks.” The sarcasm was palpable.

 

“Hey, I didn't write the game.” Bill said in his defense. “You brought me along to make connections, so I'm making one. If Hyrule and _The Legend of Zelda_ is real, maybe the stuff from _Kingdom Hearts_ is too. I mean, it would make sense actually if there was a dragon involved in the princess's kidnapping.”

 

“And why is that, Bill?” Daniel asked, trying to keep a straight face in the face of the unbelievability of his line of thought.

 

“Well, one of the main bad guys in _Kingdom Hearts_ is Maleficent. Well, she's not _the_ main bad guy, but she's way up there.” Bill said.

 

“Maleficent? _Sleeping Beauty's_ Maleficent? The witch that cursed the princess to sleep for a hundred years and turned herself into a huge black fire-breathing dragon, that Maleficent?” Shepherd asked, his voice rising.

 

“Well, yeah.” Bill said.

 

“Oh crap.” Rodney said. “Didn't the report from the men who were with the princess say it was a black dragon that breathed green fire?”

 

“Yep.” Daniel replied, folding his arms, feeling like he was in a bad dream after too much pizza and Disney movies.

 

“Well, yeah, that's what why I was thinking it was her. It also might explain why she kidnapped Zelda. You see, in the game, she was trying to collect princesses who had no darkness in them to open a portal to a realm called 'Kingdom Hearts' which was the core or source of all other worlds so that the main bad guy, Xehanort could go in and cover all the worlds in darkness.” Bill explained. “It's just a theory, but so far, it fits the facts.”

 

“Yeah, in a weird way it does.” Daniel agreed, in spite of the absurdity of it all.

 

Colonel Shepherd translated everything for Link, who said something back to him, and he relayed it to the rest of the men. “Link says that the princess Zelda he knows, at least from watching her on TV, would probably fit the bill of a 'princess of heart.' She's a real sweetheart who works a lot for equal rights and kids' education; that sort of thing. Sounds a lot like the Zelda we knew.”

 

“Okay, so we work under the assumption that we're up against an extremely powerful wingless dark fairy who can turn herself into a huge, fire breathing dragon. No big deal, right?” Rodney quipped.

 

“No big deal.” Shepherd repeated, sounding about as sure of the statement as the rest of them felt.

 

“So, how long until we get to the abduction site?” Bill asked.

 

Shepherd asked Link, who responded, and then Shepherd said, “Link said it should be soon. She was taken about a half hour south of Castle Town, and we've been on the road for about an hour.”

 

“Out of curiosity, just what do we hope to find there?” Daniel asked. “Hyrule's guard will have been all over the site with a fine tooth comb. Isn't there some better way of figuring out where Zelda was taken to?”

 

“We've got to start somewhere.” Shepherd said. “And the abduction site is as good of a place as any.”

 

* * *

 

Flashlights out they went over the stretch of highway where the princess was taken looking for anything they could find. The twilight glow of a major metropolis in the distance could be seen off to the north of them as they checked the grassy field near the highway. This stretch of road had been blocked off by flares and barriers, the traffic having been diverted to share space with the northbound lane until construction crews could come in and repair the damage the dragon's claws and immense weight had done to the road.

 

“Wow, she really tore this road up.” Rodney said, impressed.

 

Link looked up and nodded. “It seems so.” He agreed. There were no streetlamps this far away from Castleton, and the only lights were their flashlights and the full moon above them. The dark didn't bother him, but something didn't feel right as he turned off his flashlight and used his more sensitive hearing than his human companions to try and figure out why.

 

“Hey, buddy, what's wrong?” Shepherd asked.

 

“Something's doesn't feel right.” Link told him. The shadows seemed to be shifting in the distance around him almost as if they had a life of their own. “Turn off your flashlights for a minute.”

 

“Do it.” Shepherd said, trusting Link's instincts, pulling his assault rifle around, taking the safety off. Daniel and Rodney did the same. “Bill, get back to the vehicle.” He told the scientist in English, who had no combat experience. “Keep your sidearm in hand.” The balding man didn't question it, he went straightaway.

 

Their eyes adjusted to the bright moonlight, and Shepherd then noticed what Link had. The shadows from the moonlight were moving, it seemed, of their own accord across the grassy expanse of Hyrule Field. And they were moving all around their position towards them.

 

“What're we looking at here, Link?” Shepherd asked, his rifle up and ready to shoot, but not sure of what he was shooting at yet.

 

The Master Sword and his uncle's shield in his hands, Link shouted back, “Nothing good! If it's what I encountered before, you've got to wait until they solidify!”

 

“When does that happen?!” McKay shouted.

 

The first group of shadows reached them and rose out of the darkness on the ground to form dark, humanoid shapes armed with swords and glowing pale green eyes. “Me and my big mouth.” Rodney said.

 

“Get a quick count, how many are we looking at?” Shepherd asked.

 

Link didn't hesitate as he charged into the first group and took off the head of the first one with a spinning slash, “One less!” He called back.

 

“Right! Light 'em up!” Shepherd called out as the shadow creatures charged them, swords held high. Rapid gunfire rang out across the previously quiet landscape, and the shadow creatures began going down and disappearing into black puffs of smoke.

 

Link thrust the Sacred Blade into the middle of the next, and then immediately pulled it out and thrust it behind him, both creatures rendered motionless disappeared. He didn't wait as three more came up to him bringing their own swords down on him in a vicious attack. He took the blows on his shield and then spun with the blade extended. His attackers fell, halved in two.

 

The creatures kept coming as more shadows descended on them and solidifying into the dark warriors. “This could be a long night.” Rodney said. “A very long night.”

 

* * *

 

Maleficent watched the whole affair through the eyes of her raven who flew in the night sky over the whole. “How interesting.” She said aloud as she sat in her makeshift, stone throne at the top of the Arbiter's tower, her eyes closed. The ruins of a great, etched metal mirror lay shattered around her, a relic from another age of that mysterious world. “I wonder how fast I can wear them out before they collapse. Hmm, should I see?” She asked to no one in particular.

 

She watched the one dressed in green with particular interest. “Yes, I do believe that one could be a significant threat to my plans, or perhaps a useful tool?” She queried. “The others appear to rely on their little pellet weapons. They're easy to dispose of aren't they? But still, I suppose if the green one would be useful to me, it wouldn't do to kill his friends. It would make him much less cooperative. Pity. Alright then. We must make some little sacrifices, mustn’t we. I can always kill them later, or something more entertaining.” She made a quick gesture with her hand and the shadows surrounding the men disappeared completely.

 

“Now, my pet,” she said, “should we invite them for tea?”

 

* * *

 

“Where'd they go?!” Shepherd called out. “Jackson, you see anything?!”

 

“No, nothing! You Rodney?!” Daniel called out.

 

“Nothing. They just disappeared!” Rodney said.

 

“No, something's still here.” Link said. “Can't you feel it?”

 

The darkness around them became palpable and cold as the four men looked this way and that trying to determine what new threat surrounded them. Overhead, a raven announced its presence, “caw, caw,” and Link went for a bow and arrow on his back, only to find he wasn't carrying them.

 

The raven circled and then landed in front of them. It then grew and elongated into a human form. “Greetings.” Said a young looking, dark haired man in black robes. “I bring greetings from my mistress, the Great Fairy Queen Maleficent.” He then looked down to find three tiny red dots lined up on his chest as the three men with rifles had them pointed at him. “I assure you that won't be necessary, if you will allow me to speak.”

 

“Go ahead, speak.” Daniel said, “We're listening. Right guys?”

 

“All ears.” Rodney said, his weapon's laser sight not leaving the man's chest.

 

“Of course.” The raven turned man replied. “My mistress invites you to join her. She has a proposal to discuss with you.”

 

“Oh?” Shepherd asked. “What kind of proposal?”

 

“She invites you to join her at the place your people call the 'arbiter's grounds.' This is where the princess called Zelda is her guest. If you wish to see her, you will meet my mistress there to discuss an alliance with her. That is my message. You have until midnight tomorrow night to meet her there,” the man said, “or the princess will die.”

 

“Tell your mistress we'll be there.” Link said flatly.

 

“Of course.” The raven man said, then he jumped into the air and his form quickly collapsed back into the raven and he flew off.

 

“Are you kidding me?!” Rodney said. “We aren't seriously going to walk into what is most definitely a trap, are we?”

 

Shepherd was quiet, thinking it through.

 

“Well, if she had wanted us dead, why did she stop the shadows?” Daniel reasoned. “There were hundreds of them coming at us. We would have run out of ammo and it wouldn't have stopped them all.”

 

“I agree.” Shepherd said. “She had us dead to rights, and chose not to shoot. I agree with Link. Let's get in the truck and check the map. The last time I was in the Lanayru desert was a long time ago, but even by truck it'll take a while to get there. We'll take turns driving and sleeping.”

 

Link nodded, still eying the darkness around him as he replaced the sword and shield on his back. “They're still out there, watching us.” He said as he walked back to the Humvee, Shepherd had already started the steam engine warming up.

 

“I don't doubt it.” Shepherd said. “Anyone that powerful could have squished us any time she wanted to. She'll probably have eyes on us the whole way there.”

 

“The question is, what does she really want from Zelda or us?” Daniel asked.

 

“What do you mean?” Rodney asked.

 

“Well, Zelda's probably still alive, and Maleficent, assuming that's who it really is, just invited us to discuss an alliance with her, which she wouldn't even consider unless it was in her best interests to do so, and she has to know we wouldn't either. So, what would be in our interests to even consider such an alliance?” Daniel explained.

 

“Hey guys?” Bill, who had been in the truck the whole time, spoke up. “What just happened? Can you let me in on what's going on?”

 

Daniel then quickly explained what had happened and what was said in English, adding, “So, what do you think, Bill?”

 

Bill thought for a few minutes, until he realized everyone's eyes were on him. “What?” He said. “I'm thinking. Why is everyone looking at me?”

 

“Because you happen to have been right, Bill, and seem to have all the good ideas.” Daniel said.

 

“Well, give me a few minutes. Let me think.” He said. “Shouldn't we start driving or something?” He said, flustered.

 

Shepherd released the brakes and put the engine into gear and the truck began rolling on the road back southbound. “Okay, we're going to need to head west towards Lake Hylia.” He said. “Look for the, uh...” He checked the map in his lap, “Highway 2a, I think.”

 

Daniel relayed what he said to Bill, who seemed confused. “But in the game, Lake Hylia is to the east of Hyrule Field.” He said.

 

“Yeah, weird, huh?” Shepherd said in response in English. “Link's right handed in the Wii game, too, but I've always known him as left handed. Lake Hylia has always been to the west of Hyrule Castle though, at least in this reality.”

 

“Strange.” Bill agreed. “Nintendo should get so many details right, but mess up on basic directions between east and west, or whether or not Link's right or left handed.”

 

They drove on a bit, until Bill spoke up again. “You know, I was thinking. If Maleficent wants an alliance, maybe someone else came into Hyrule that she needs help against. Maybe that's why she's here, because of the other guy.”

 

“Who would Maleficent need help in taking down?” Rodney asked. “I'd think she could do just fine herself against just about anyone.”

 

“Yeah, I'd normally agree, but there was this one guy in _Kingdom Hearts_. Oh, oh that's bad if it's him.” Bill said, trying to think through the implications. “He's actually the main bad guy of the whole series who wanted to enter the Kingdom Hearts and shroud the entire universe in darkness.”

 

Link asked what Bill had said, and Daniel told him. He then said something in response, and Daniel relayed it. He asked, “Can he be killed?”

 

“I don't know. He never dies in any of the games, he only runs away to plot and plan something else after he's defeated.” Bill said.

 

“Well, we've taken down one undying Demon King before. How hard can this one be?” Shepherd observed.

 


	31. Chapter 31

Chapter 31

 

The early morning darkness gave way to the sunrise in the east as the gray, military Humvee reached the resort town of Lake Hylia, and Daniel switched off the vehicle's headlights, heading down the stretch of road which led off into the great bowl shaped depression formed by the surrounding cliffs. The morning sun glinted off the crystal clear waters of the lake. Link rode to his left asleep in the passenger seat while the other three men had been trying to catch naps in the backseat.

 

“Hey guys, I think we're here.” He called out, waking up Shepherd, though Rodney, Bill, and Link still slept soundly.

 

Shepherd blinked the sleep out of his eyes a few times and looked around through the vehicle's windows at the still sleeping town. “Wow, it's really been built up since the last time I was here. It was barely a village before.”

 

As they reached the bottom, the road took them onto a main street on the edge of the lake, lined with storefronts and brick row houses backed up against the rock cliffs. Towards the lake they could see a line of docks with, presumably, recreational fishing boats moored there. The town extended a bit out into the lake with walkways connecting houses and buildings built on floating foundations. “I can't believe the Zoras permitted all this to be built here.” Shepherd said. “Not with their own sacred temple sitting at the bottom of the lake. We had to get their permission for me to just take recruits into the lake for dive and swim survival training. It took a week of negotiating. How'd anyone manage to get permission for all this?”

 

Link opened his eyes, yawned and looked around at the small town. He'd heard of the Lake Hylia resort before, of course, but he had never been there. A couple of his friends from the fencing team had spent the previous summer here with their parents. Link had been invited and wanted to go, but his uncle needed his help on the ranch, so he stayed behind. Now he finally got to see it. “It's smaller than I imagined it would be.” He said. “It always looks so big in the advertisements on TV.”

 

“You can't believe everything you see on TV, buddy.” Shepherd said. “I used to have a cabin here. Well, not right here. It was up the Zora river near a great little fishing spot. You and I used to go fishing up there when we got some time off.”

 

“You and I?” Link asked, trying to understand what the older man was saying. Shepherd and the other men had done their best to explain things to him, but he still found the whole thing hard to grasp. “Up the river?” He questioned.

 

“Yeah. I remember this one time you got a bite on the line, and fought and fought to reel this thing in thinking you had gotten some huge coral fish or something only to pull in an old log. The look on your face was priceless.” Shepherd told him. He had been trying to encourage Link's other memories to surface, but it had been slow going at best. They were going to need all of Link's experience and knowledge, Shepherd had a feeling, and not just the teenage fencing champ that rode with them now.

 

“Yeah... I wish I could remember it.” Link said, struggling with something that seemed just out of his reach.

 

“It must be tough.” Daniel said. “I know it was tough when I took mortal form again. I had all the knowledge of an ascended being, as well as my own memories, locked up in my head and I couldn't use any of it except for bare snippets when the need for them surfaced.”

 

“You walked among the gods, Daniel?” Link asked in awe.

 

“You could say that. The 'gods' of our reality didn't like that I actively tried to help my people, and so they 'cast me out of heaven,' so to speak.” Daniel said. “It took me weeks to regain just the memories I had as a mortal before I ascended. The other memories I never fully recovered.”

 

“If I truly am the Hero like everyone seems to think, why would I have been cast out of heaven?” Link asked. It was a question that had troubled him. What had he done that was so wrong that he would have been forced to be mortal and suffer horribly again?

 

“From what I was told by a very reliable source, no one forced you back down here again.” Daniel told him. “You and Zelda have always had the choice to be reborn or not.”

 

“Whatever caused you to take mortal form again must have been something really bad, or else you wouldn't have come back.” Shepherd added. “That's why Talon went to go get us.”

 

Link nodded, considering that new information. “So whoever I was in the heavens chose to come back because Hyrule needed me again.”

 

“Yeah, that's how it seems to go.” Shepherd said. “I don't know why your other memories haven't come back yet. When I first met you, you were ten years old going on ten thousand. But even if they don't, I've seen you in action, and you already got to the Sacred Grove on your own instincts. You're the same man I got to know before. I have no doubt of that.”

 

“Just be patient, and don't try to think too much about it. You got as far as you did because your subconscious mind has been leading you, right?” Daniel said as he drove through the town.

 

“Yeah, I guess I did.” Link said.

 

“So trust that. Trust your instincts. The Hero's in there, inside of you. Try and listen to him, and don't fight him.” Shepherd said, picking up on Daniel's train of thought.

 

“Yeah. Trust my instincts, like in my fencing matches.” Link understood that; those times when his mind would be 'in the zone,' and would go blank while his reflexes and instincts took over. No one could touch him in a duel as long as he didn't over-think it.

 

“There you go. Just like in your fencing matches.” Shepherd agreed. “Whatever works for you.”

 

A red indicator light came on in front of Daniel that he didn't recognize as he drove. “Hey guys, what does this red light here mean?”

 

Shepherd leaned over the seat and looked at it. “I'm not sure. It looks like a symbol for a tank of liquid. Maybe we're out of gas.”

 

“I thought it was a steam engine. It doesn't use gas.” Daniel replied.

 

“Right.” Shepherd said back to him, and then he began to somewhat roughly shake Rodney awake. “Rodney, wake up!” He shouted at him. After about a minute he began to react. “What?! I'm up, I'm up. Wow, are we there already?”

 

“Yeah, we're in Lake Hylia. We have a red indicator light on the dash that looks like a tank of liquid of some kind. Any ideas?” Shepherd asked him.

 

“It's not gas, if that's what you're thinking. It's a steam engine. If they kept going with their previous time-shift crystal heating system, it won't need fuel in that sense, so I'm guessing the boiler is low on water, maybe?” Rodney reasoned out. “We've been running it for about eight hours now since we left Faron.”

 

“Alright, Jackson, pull over into anything that looks like a service station so we can refill the boiler.” Shepherd said.

 

“Yeah, I'll just keep my eyes open for one; assuming it looks like anything I'd recognize.” Daniel said, looking from one side of the street to the other.

 

“It look's like there's a water-fill down on the next corner to the right.” Link said, looking down the street a ways. “My uncle's got a steam work truck. He usually fills it at this one particular water-fill in town back in Ordonville because the water's cleaner, and mixed with some additives to make it last longer in the boiler. That's the same company as the one coming up it looks like.”

 

“Okay, good call, Link.” Shepherd said. “Pull it in there. We need to figure out how to get up into the desert from here. The map Jovani gave us doesn't show any roads west after Lake Hylia.”

 

Daniel pulled the Humvee into the water-fill station and parked it where Link said should be good for refilling the boiler in the vehicle's engine. All in all, it didn't look that different from the gas stations in his own world, except for the huge water tank that stood next to the small building where the attendant watched them pull in. There were various labels in Hyrule's written language placed on it, some of them with a skull and cross-bones in red directly above them. “So, I guess that means don't drink the water?” Daniel asked.

 

“I wouldn't.” Link confirmed for him. “The additives maximize the efficiency of the steam output, but they make the water poisonous to drink.”

 

“Good to know.” Daniel said as he and Link got out of the vehicle to hook up the water hose.

 

Shepherd also got out of the truck and went to go talk to the attendant, who came out of the building to meet them. “Hey there, how's your morning going?” He asked him.

 

The man smiled, and said, “It's going pretty good, there general.” He offered his hand to Shepherd who took it. He was an Ordonian man, maybe in his mid forties or so, clean shaven with dark hair. He looked at the gray Humvee and said, “Hoo, you don't see too many of those around here much any more, especially not the old steam engine ones. Not since the raids a few years back. Too bad really. Steam always gives you more power than electric, but all the folks around here seem to be buying lately are the new electric cars. I've had to install two new chargers just to keep up with them.”

 

“Yeah, it's gotten us where we needed to go.” Shepherd said. “Say listen, we need to get up into the desert, and it's been a long time since I've been out this way. Can you point us in the right direction?”

 

The man looked at Shepherd's uniform in confusion, “Well, shoot general, you should know there aren't any roads that go up into the desert. You've got to go see the guard captain at the barracks for him to take you and your guys up there. Where are you from?”

 

“Ordon.” Shepherd lied quickly. “Where'd you say the barracks were?”

 

“Follow this road all the way up to those cliffs there. The barracks are just at the base of the ascent there.” He told him.

 

“Thanks.” He turned around to see Link unhooking the water hose. “How much for the water?” He asked, pulling out the roll of rupee notes, Jovani had procured for him before they left the Grove.

 

“Let's see,” The attendant looked over his shoulder at the mechanical gauge, “Thirty gallons of boiler water? Shoot, you must have been almost bone dry. I'm surprised you made it this far. Where'd you drive from?”

 

“Faron Province, last night.” Shepherd said. “How much?”

 

“That's about sixty rupees.” The attendant said. Shepherd pulled out three twenty rupee notes, and handed them to him. The attendant paused for a minute, as though he was thinking about something. “You know, if you're really going into the desert, you may want to take some water with you. There aren't any water-fills out there. I don't know how far you're going, but it's a big desert.”

 

“Good idea. Thanks. Uh, you got any extra water cans for sale?” Shepherd asked.

 

“Yeah, tell you what. You buy the water, and I'll throw the cans in for free.” The attendant told him. “I've got a brother in the guard. Anything I can do to help.” An idea then occurred to him, “Hey does this have anything to do with the princess having gone missing? Is that where they think she is, out there?” He asked, pointing in the direction of the far cliffs.

 

“I couldn't tell you if it was.” Shepherd said.

 

“Yeah, I get it. Well, I don't know if it means anything, but the other night I was out watching the stars with my wife and we saw this huge black bird or something flying out that way. I mean this was the biggest, weirdest looking bird I have ever seen.” The man said. “My wife swears she saw something pink and silver in its claws.”

 

“Thanks for the inlet.” Shepherd told him.

 

The man then went to get their extra water cans for the trip. “Well, at least we know we're going in the right direction.” Shepherd thought out loud, remembering Zelda's favorite colors of dress.

 

* * *

 

“You might want to know, my dear,” Maleficent began as she entered the little cell in which she kept the princess, “that your rescuers are nothing if not prompt. At this rate, they should be here before nightfall.”

 

“How did they know to come here?” The princess asked.

 

“Why I invited them of course.” Maleficent told her. Zelda looked pensive at this new information. “Oh, don't worry, I gave them plenty of incentive to be here quickly. I told them to be here before midnight, or you would die.”

 

“I thought you needed me alive.” Zelda asked, nervously.

 

“They don't know that, now do they? I don't like to be kept waiting.” Maleficent returned.

 

“So then, you've considered my offer? We could be allies.” Zelda said.

 

“Indeed.” Maleficent said thoughtfully. “I have considered it _very_ carefully.”

 

“And?” Zelda asked.

 

“And, after our little chats, I've been thinking on things that I put out of my mind a long time ago. It has led me to come to a very important decision in my life.” Maleficent said.

 

“And what is that?” Zelda asked hopefully.

 

“Why, my dear, I need you alive, but not awake trying to fill me with soft ideas of alliances and memories of home.” Maleficent said. “So, I shall tell you to _sleep_.” She gestured towards the princess's forehead and Zelda's eyes grew heavy, and just as they were about to close, Maleficent leaned forward and said, “you will _sleep_ dear, but you will not awaken. Not without true love's kiss.” She laughed evilly. Pale green energy flowed from Maleficent's hand and wrapped itself around Zelda's body as the princess fell into a deep, dreamless sleep. It then lifted her up off of her feet, and gently placed her on the bed in the cell, where she remained.

 

When the princess was situated, Maleficent turned to one of the skeleton guards and said, “That's one of my favorite conditions for a spell to be broken. Do you know why? Because it doesn't exist.” That was a lesson she had learned at great personal cost, and she had learned it well.

 

* * *

 

“I don't know of any Ordonians who've made it all the way to general, _sir_.” The Guard Captain said suspiciously as he eyed Shepherd in his gray tactical uniform. “Especially not a man as young as you. And I'm not impressed by the kid in the green costume in the front seat.” He pointed through the windshield to where Link sat. “I don't know who you people think you are, or what you think you can get away with, but we don't go for that kind of thing around here. And I'm certainly not letting you or anyone else past the safety walls into a no man's land so you can go stirring up the Bulblins because you want to play hero or some stupid crap like that.”

 

They stood outside the gray brick barracks where the guard captain had come out to meet him after receiving a telephone call from the water-fill attendant down the road. He was a middle-aged Hylian man with a thick white mustache and a once muscular build. He had met Shepherd under a winged Triforce sign with the words in Hylian which read “ROYAL HYRULE MILITARY GUARD – LAKE HYLIA DIVISION.”

 

“Look, I don't really have a lot of time to argue this, _captain_.” He said, pulling out his royal credentials, as well as a letter with the king's personal seal in wax. “We need to get up in the desert right now, and I need you to take us up there.”

 

The guard captain took the letter and put on a set of spectacles to see it properly. “Hmm,” he said. His tone of voice changing little. “Looks like you've got the right papers to show me, but I've still never heard of an Ordonian being promoted to general. And I'll be damned before I allow a civilian into the desert. I won't take responsibility for that.” He said firmly.

 

“Oh really?” Shepherd said testily. He had never encountered any prejudice between Hylians and “normal” humans before in any of his encounters in that world. He briefly considered just knocking the man on his butt and throwing him into his own jail cell for insubordination, but then he had a better idea. “Tell you what. Let me introduce you to this _kid_. You can tell him you won't let him go in.” He then turned back to the vehicle and called out, “Hey Link! Come here for a minute. This guy has something to say to you.”

 

Link got out of the Humvee and came up to stand in front of the guard captain. “Yes?” He asked.

 

“I'm sorry son, but the desert is military personnel only on _authorized_ missions. I can't let you...” The guard captain didn't get a chance to finish his sentence before he had the point of Link's sword held to his throat. It was beginning to make red scratches in the man's skin. Sweat began to pour off of the man's face as terror filled his eyes, “you can't... you can't...” He stammered.

 

“Let me explain to you who this is, _captain_.” Shepherd told him, speaking slowly so he would understand every word. “To which rank you can be sure to say goodbye once we leave here and I am able to contact the palace upon our return. This is the Hero of legend reborn. His one and only mission in life is to rescue Princess Zelda. Now, Princess Zelda has been abducted and she is being held in the old arbiter's grounds by a nasty piece of work of a fairy. Our _mission_ has been authorized by King Daphnes himself and you have been ordered by him to provide every assistance to us possible. Do I make myself clear? Or do you need Link here to explain it to you his way?”

 

“N-n-n-no, s-s-sir!” The man responded, his Adam’s apple grazing the razor sharp point of the Master Sword, the rest of his throat in Link's right hand.

 

“Good. Now that we understand each other, I presume we can get going. We have a long journey ahead of us, and we have to be there before midnight.” Shepherd addressed Link, “Let him go.” And Link withdrew, replacing the sword in his scabbard. “And in the future, captain, if I ever hear of you disparaging anyone because of their race, whether they're Hylian, Zora, Goron, or Ordonian I'll have you scrubbing floors in the palace dungeon with your mustache for the rest of your natural life.”

 

“Yes, sir.” The captain said meekly. “I'll go and open the gates and lead you up there.” His tone of voice sounded his defeat. “I'll need to radio the gun emplacements before we go up. They'll need to know not to fire on you. The Bulblins have gotten inventive recently. They've started cobbling together trucks to try to ram the gates and break through.”

 

“So noted, is there anything else we should know?” Shepherd asked.

 

“Uh... Watch out for bombs and explosives. They've mined the desert with stuff they took from us during their raids. It gets worse the farther west you go, towards their camps, but it shouldn't be too bad north towards the ruins. Not the last time we went in and did a sweep anyways.” The older man told him.

 

“And how long ago was that?” Shepherd asked.

 

“About a month ago. We do it every three months, sir. The flat land towards the Grounds was pretty open then. Of course it could have changed. They're more clever than people give them credit for.” He said.

 

“I'll take that under advisement.” Shepherd told him. “Now let's get moving. The sun is getting higher in the sky. We'll also need a few extra rifles and magazines for them from your armory. We ran into some trouble last night and spent a lot of our own ammo.”

 

“I'll get them right away, sir.” He said, and then hurried to carry out his orders.

 

“That's better.” Shepherd said as the man scurried away.

 

* * *

 

The noon sun burned bright overhead as the vehicle drove off road north towards the ancient prison. The five men inside felt the jolt of every uneven surface in spite of the suspension's best efforts to absorb them. They had been driving for a couple of hours, and the massive ruined structure rose up in front of them. “It looks about what, twenty miles away or so now?” Rodney asked.

 

“Give or take.” Shepherd agreed as he drove. “How're you doing, Bill?”

 

Doctor Lee was a sickly pale shade of green as the constant bouncing, jerking motion of the vehicle sent his stomach into conniptions. With the absence of paper bags, he had been forced to roll down the back window several times, causing a disgusting spray to collect along the left side of the vehicle.

 

“I'll be better once we stop. Ugh, this is why I don't do a lot of real world off-roading.” He said. “I'm more of a living room adventurer type.”

 

“Well, we're almost there, and we're making good time. And we haven't seen or heard from a single Bulblin yet.” Shepherd said.

 

There was a deafening sound like a bomb going off, and the whole vehicle suddenly launched high into the air. The Humvee landed hard and skidded, rolling over onto one side before it came to a halt. The last thing Shepherd saw was a tall, lanky green skinned creature with a bulbous head wrapped in the protective clothes of the desert approaching the felled vehicle, a makeshift crossbow in his hands pointed at him. Then, all was dark.

 


	32. Chapter 32

Chapter 32

 

Bill didn't get the luxury of unconsciousness that his companions did. His head felt like someone had taken two hammers to it and mistaken it for a drum after the Humvee landed on its right side. He had been violently jerked around in the safety straps only coming to rest halfway hanging from them and resting on Daniel Jackson's unconscious form. He saw the green creatures approaching their truck through the front windows too. “Bulblins.” He said in a whisper, recognizing them from the video game. “Wow, they're even uglier in reality than they are in the game.” He said, holding his head from the pain.

 

The Bulblin that approached first had a crossbow in his hands, and kept his eyes warily on the passengers of his prize, watching for any movements from them. When he was satisfied they weren't going to be a threat to him, he went to the rear of the vehicle for the extra water tanks they were carrying on the rear storage rack.

 

Bill didn't move a muscle. If these creatures were anything like they were in the game, they weren't too bright, but they would shoot anything moving. If it thought they were dead, then so much the better. He listened as the creature worked to free the water cans, and then watched as other Bulblins emerged from behind rocks and dunes to come and help, chattering in their own strange and guttural language.

 

They want the water, Bill thought to himself. I guess that makes sense, they're living in a desert. It must be harder to come by than anything else. More Bulblins came up riding huge, muscular red and brown boars with wicked looking tusks. Just like in the game, he observed. I wonder if the slight humps on their backs are like a camel's, he thought.

 

He heard them opening the water cans and liquid being sloshed on the ground. Not very careful, are they? He thought. What is going on? Are they trying to drink it? I wonder if they know about the additives Link told Daniel about. Maybe they have some way of filtering it.

 

After about half an hour, he started hearing moans of pain coming from outside the truck, and the thuds of individuals hitting the ground with their knees, buttocks, or heads. “I guess not.” He whispered. After a few more minutes, all was mostly silent outside, and he chose to risk unbuckling himself from the straps, being careful not to hurt Daniel who was laying below him, and opening the rear door he had been sitting next to.

 

The scene outside was almost comical, if it hadn't been so serious. About ten or fifteen Bulblins lay on the ground in their own vomit clutching their stomachs. Their weapons, a collection of crude clubs, crossbows, and a few antique looking rifles, lay scattered around them. None of them were moving any more. About ten feet to the front of the truck were several of those riding boars, each one riderless. “Well, that was easier than it could have been.” He said.

 

He pulled himself out of the truck and got a better grasp of their situation. He knew the other men in the truck were still alive because they were still breathing. Colonel Shepherd had some blood on his forehead, as did Rodney who was laying against the rear door that was now against the ground. There was no gasoline in the truck as far as he knew, but he didn't know if the heating element for the boiler could explode. Water had left a dark brown stain where it had seeped into the sand all around the truck.

 

In the distance, the huge structure of the arbiter's grounds rose up from the rocks like an ancient fortress. The sun was still high in the sky. “What do I do now? I'm not trained to deal with this kind of thing.” Bill said to no one in particular. “And _Twilight Princess_ doesn't count!” He yelled in frustration, shaking his fist at the sand dunes.

 

“What's that about the princess?” Someone below him mumbled. He looked down to find Daniel blinking his eyes open.

 

“Daniel, you're awake!” He said gladly. “I thought I'd have to deal with all of this on my own.”

 

“No, no, I'm awake now. My head is throbbing. What happened?” He asked.

 

Bill filled him in on the last forty five minutes. “Wow.” Daniel said as he unbuckled himself and began to move around, trying to be careful of the injured and unconscious Rodney beneath him. “They all really poisoned themselves?”

 

“Yeah. Go figure.” Bill replied. “So now what do we do?”

 

“Well, it's the heat of the day in a desert. We're going to need the gallons of drinking water we got from the guard barracks.” Daniel said as he began to check on the three other men between the front and rear seats. “They're all still alive, just out cold. Rodney hit his head pretty hard, but I think he'll be okay. Everybody's still got all of their arms and legs. I've seen what a roadside bomb can do to one of our Humvee and the men inside. This truck must be armored pretty heavily on the underside for us to have survived it, much less just knock us out.”

 

“Well, I don't think it's going any farther though.” Bill observed.

 

“No, I don't think it is either.” Daniel agreed. “And we aren't either until the others wake up. Here, let's start getting them out of these straps. We have small tents in the supplies we brought from Atlantis, so we could wait out the heat, and start walking closer to sundown, but we don't know how safe it's going to be to stay with the vehicle either.”

 

“Why not?” Bill asked.

 

“Well, the Bulblins outside might have friends who will wonder why they aren't coming back yet.” Daniel told him. “We need to get out of here.”

 

“Right.” Bill said.

 

The two men with splitting headaches worked to gently move their friends out of the overturned Humvee, and then went back to grab anything useful they might have left, including their weapons, water, tools, the map they had, and their mission backpacks.

 

As Bill climbed back into the truck for one last look, he spied a small vial of shimmering, glowing pink liquid that he hadn't seen before, but recognized from his video game experience. “Wow, that's really valuable. I wonder who had this?” He asked, and then he shoved it into one of his pants' pockets. “Can't just leave that here in this wreck.”

 

“What happened?!” Rodney's voice cried out in pain from outside. “My head feels like it's been used as a heavy metal drum set!”

 

Bill climbed back out of the truck and landed back on the dirt. Daniel had been looking after their friends. They were all now awake and holding their heads, with Daniel going around with a first aid kit, doing the best he could administering the red vials of water of life that the kit held to the men who were bleeding before handing one to Bill and taking one himself.

 

“Alright, the truck is toast, but at least it didn't explode.” Shepherd said, once he was able to think clearly from the medicine. Seriously, he wondered, what is in that stuff? “We've got about twenty miles to cross before midnight, and we have no idea what we're up against once we get there.”

 

“Well, unless we're walking through the desert in the middle of the day, I have no idea how we're going to get there.” Rodney said.

 

Link spoke up in his own language, and Rodney answered, sounding like he was explaining the situation in his own pessimistic way. Link then pointed to the boars with a grin on his face, asking a question, at which Rodney started gesturing and saying something that sounded suspiciously like a vehement “no.”

 

“Hey, what's going on?” Bill asked. “What'd Link say?”

 

“He asked Rodney if he knew how to ride one of those boars over there.” Shepherd replied. “Actually, it's not a bad idea. It'd beat walking if they'll let us.”

 

“Oh come on! You're not serious are you? Horses are bad enough!” Rodney protested.

 

“Unless you really want to walk twenty miles, Rodney, it's probably our best shot at getting there in time.” Daniel agreed with Shepherd. “Of course, you could always stay here and wait for their friends to show up.” He said, motioning towards the dead Bulblins on the ground.

 

“Yeah, right.” Rodney said. “Just what I wanted to add to my resume: huge ugly pig riding.”

 

Bill looked again at the boars that were standing there looking at them. “We're going to ride on those things?” He asked, pointing at the boars in disbelief. “Seriously? I mean, I've ridden a horse before, but how different is this?”

 

Shepherd asked Link the question. Link responded with a shrug, telling Shepherd something that left his expression less than thrilled. “He said he doesn't know. He'll tell you when he finds out.”

 

“Oh.” Bill said, completely forgetting about his previous discovery.

 

* * *

 

The sun was setting as the five men came up to the beginnings of the ruins, and the heat was finally dissipating. The huge pigs were panting and exhausted, complaining and whining loudly. Link almost felt sorry for them. They were just riding animals. It wasn't their fault the Bulblins captured and bred them for their own mounts.

 

In addition to his sword and shield, Link now also carried one of the assault rifles supplied to them from Lake Hylia's R.H.M.G. armory strapped around his shoulder. He had used his uncle's rifles from Epona's back before, back on the ranch, to keep the red octoroks away from the goats, and he was a pretty decent shot with one of those. After looking it over himself, Shepherd showed him the basics of it and, except for the full auto setting and the ammunition magazine on it, it wasn't that much different. At the time Shepherd gave him the weapon, Doctor Lee had made a comment, and then hummed a weird melody. Shepherd laughed, translating it for him, “He says we'll call this the 'Fairy Machine Gun.'” Link smiled politely, but had no idea what he was talking about.

 

As Shepherd had been showing him the weapon, he whispered to Link, “You know, you went a little harder on the guy then I expected you. You looked like you were really going to take out his throat.”

 

“I could hear your conversation with him,” Link replied tapping his sharpened ears, “I heard how he said the word _Ordonian_. My foster family and all of my friends are Ordonians. I don't care who he thinks he is, he had no right to talk that way about you because of the shape of your ears or face. There's too many Hylians now that seem to think they're better than everyone else just because they're Hylian.” He explained with a deadly seriousness.

 

“I'm glad you're not one of them.” Shepherd replied.

 

“Never.” Link had told him. Zelda was the same way, Link was sure. He had followed her on the news from the first time he saw her. She was always speaking out for the rights of non-Hylians and equality among the races. It was one of the things among many about her that drew him to her, the thought ran through his mind. He quickly tried to squash it. “Can't think like that now.” He said to himself.

 

“Can't think like what?” Rodney asked.

 

“Nothing.” Link lied. “It's just a little bit farther and then we'll have to leave the boars behind and go in on foot.”

 

“Yeah, I remember.” Rodney said.

 

“You do?”Link asked, surprised. “What do you mean?”

 

“We were here some five years ago now. Five years ago for me, anyways, looking for something. It's probably the second creepiest place I've ever been to. And let me tell you, that's saying something because I have been to a lot of creepy places.” Rodney started.

 

“Yeah, I've seen your apartment back home, Rodney.” Shepherd quipped.

 

“Hey!” Rodney exclaimed.

 

“Oh.” Was all Link said in response. It was another reminder of the lives he had lived that he couldn't remember.

 

They came to the place where they had to dismount and proceeded in on foot, leaving the boars behind to graze on whatever patches of desert plants they could find. The last time Link looked back at them, they were feasting madly on some cactus, the juices from the plant running down the sides of it.

 

“Weapons out, eyes open.” Shepherd said as he unslung his rifle and had it ready. “We don't know what little surprises our host may have waiting for us.” The other men followed suit. Even Doctor Lee had a gun this time, though he seemed to be nervous about it as he looked around.

 

They carefully picked their way through an abandoned Bulblin camp and came up and through the front gates of the ancient prison. The camp looked like it hadn't been used in centuries. “I guess they don't come around here much anymore.” Bill had said in English, and Daniel translated when Link asked.

 

“No, it was abandoned when we were here too, actually.” Rodney said, looking around. “I don't think they like this place much. Truth be told, I don't blame them. I don't like it much either.”

 

The sun started to dip below the western mountains and all became almost too dark to see in the shadows of the ruins. “Lights on.” Shepherd said, turning on the flashlight mounted to his rifle. The others did the same.

 

They came to the first small gate room of the prison. The gate itself was a small portcullis that was raised into the open position and left there. Torches were burning brightly to either side of the room. The floor of the room looked to be somewhat of a problem as the stone floor had been partially consumed by three swirling vortexes of sand that seemed to be constantly emptying into the earth.

 

“Watch yourself. Don't get swallowed up.” Shepherd called out. “Follow Link through.” He nodded to Link.

 

Why me? Link was about to ask, but then he saw the path through. He had a flash of memory about a device with a claw on a chain and flying up towards one of the torch holders. I wish I had that now, he thought. “Give me a second.” He told them, and then went back out to the abandoned camp.

 

There was all sorts of wood and boards laying around that he had seen coming through. Some of it still sturdy enough to use as makeshift bridges. He picked two and dragged them back into the room. Shepherd got the idea and helped him put them across to bridge the gaps. They did this a few more times, and their walkways were complete. They took them one at a time and carefully cross through the room.

 

As the last man made it to the solid stone floor on the other side, something shot out of the sand towards them. Before anyone else could react, Link drew his sword and sliced the creature in two.

 

“What was that?!” Daniel asked, startled.

 

“Something nasty.” Link responded, using his sword to point out the razor sharp teeth on what looked like a fish from hell.

 

“You're telling me.” Daniel replied.

 

They passed under the portcullis into another stone hallways that was also brightly lit by torches. “Hey, does it seem to anyone else like someone's expecting us?” Daniel asked.

 

“Well, she is, isn't she?” Rodney responded.

 

“Yeah, but she can't have known when we arrived, can she? These torches look pretty fresh.” He said.

 

“Well, I guess we're going to find out any minute now.” Shepherd responded, hearing the conversation.

 

They moved through the ground floor of the prison carefully, but all they encountered was silence and lit torches guiding their way. “The main hall of the prison is up ahead.” Link told the rest of them. He knew it was the same way he had known all the other things he shouldn't have been able to know.

 

“If there's no one waiting for us there, it could be a long search. These ruins are huge.” Rodney added.

 

They crossed the doorway and entered a huge vaulted hall. At the opposite end was a grand series of steps leading up to another, massive doorway that looked to have been originally designed to be guarded. Torches blazed brightly all around the room, and up in a massive set of circular chandeliers giving light to the massive empty space. On the steps stood a black robed female figure with black horns protruding from the top of her head. In her right hand she held a staff with a raven perched on its top. With her left hand she stroked the top of the raven's head.

 

“Somehow I don't think that's going to be a problem, Rodney.” Shepherd observed.

 

“Welcome to my new humble abode!” The black robed woman called out. Link looked at her with scrutiny. He felt like he recognized her, but not necessarily from his other memories. No, he had seen her face, or the face of someone similar very recently. Then it hit him, “She's a Great Fairy.” He whispered. “But that doesn't make any sense. Great Fairies are creatures of light.”

 

“Apparently not this one.” Daniel said, hearing him.

 

“We want to see Zelda!” Shepherd called out to her. “Alive and unharmed before we talk about anything else.”

 

“Well, how rude. No introductions? No tea? Men. Always business first.” Maleficent said impatiently. “Well, very well then.” She gestured widely, motioning her hands in a circle and there was a flash of green light. Behind her appeared one of the prison's beds, and on it lay a sleeping princess Zelda. “There, she's alive and unharmed. Just enjoying a nice deep sleep. Now, shall we talk or not?”

 

“Bring her out of it first.” Link shouted, fear for her bleeding into his facial features.

 

“Now, now, don't be rude. I need her alive, not awake. I can bring her out of it whenever I choose. If I choose, that is.” Maleficent smiled with malice, obviously believing in her total control over the situation..

 

“You'll bring her out of it now.” Link demanded, his voice taking on a steely hardness to it, like the edge of a sword.

 

* * *

 

Shepherd knew that tone of Link's voice. It meant these “negotiations” were about to be cut short. He hadn't planned on trusting the sorceress to begin with, but he needed to keep her talking at least long enough to confirm what Bill told them about what the bigger threat might be.

 

“What is it that you want, Maleficent?” Shepherd called out. “You offered an alliance. Against who?”

 

“Ah yes.” She said, not taking her eyes off of Link. “I tracked him to this world with my magic. I truly have no real fight with any of you. He's an old business associate of mine. In our last 'association' he murdered a dear friend of mine, and I want him dead. It's as simple as that really. I've spent the last several years tracking down his remaining hosts through time and space. It was only recently that I found that his spirit fled to this world and he took a host here. It's in your best interests I assure you that you work with me. He may be weakened, but you are still no match for him.”

 

“What's his name?” Shepherd asked.

 

“Xehanort.” Maleficent said.

 

Dammit. Shepherd thought. Bill was right.

 

“Alright, release Zelda, and we'll help you find and kill him. Everybody wins.” Shepherd said.

 

“You misunderstand, my dear little man. I need Zelda alive to draw him here. The light in her heart will draw him like a moth to a flame.” Maleficent said.

 

“So you don't know where in Hyrule he is then?” Shepherd asked.

 

“Regrettably no. I don't know what his new host looks like, and he's been remarkably silent as to his normal activities as far as I can tell. If I didn't know better, I'd say he was hiding from me.” She told him.

 

“And how long have you been in Hyrule?” He asked her.

 

“Oh dear, I only just arrived about a week or two ago. You should have seen the place before I came. Ghastly.” She said with a grin.

 

Okay, important questions answered, Shepherd thought. He then looked towards Link. Nope, there was no way the kid was going to agree to anything as long as Zelda was comatose, and Shepherd remembered the story of Sleeping Beauty. No matter how it went down, as long as Maleficent was still standing, they were going to lose in some way. Link's eyes were hard and fixed. The rage was building inside of him, Shepherd could tell. Nope, this wasn't going to end well for the witch.

 

“Let Zelda go, and we'll find another way to find him.” Shepherd said one last time.

 

“There is no other way. I don't think you understand your situation. You don't have a choice in the matter.” Maleficent told him with an evil grin.

 

Behind the five men hundreds of skeletal warriors rose up out of the stone floor. Their eye sockets glowed a pale sickly green. They carried swords and axes. Nope, this wasn't going to end well at all.

 

Your funeral, Mal, Shepherd thought. “No deal!” He shouted. “Light her up!”

 

The five men opened up their weapons on her, spraying her with a hale of bullets, all of which were stopped by a pale green field of energy surrounding her. Her face became livid with anger.

 

“Stupid fools! You have no idea who you're dealing with! My powers have increased tenfold since I have entered this world!” Maleficent shouted. “Light me up?!” She cackled. “What a wonderful suggestion! I will light the whole room up in flames!” And with that she enveloped herself in a green mist and began to grow and change shape into something black, scaly, and monstrous. A great roar filled the hall as it erupted in green flames.

 

* * *

 

Up to that moment, all Link could see was the sleeping body of Zelda on the stone bed behind the cackling witch. He had stopped listening to anything the witch had to say. He _couldn't_ hear it anymore. His heart wouldn't let him hear her taunts or excuses. He knew only two things at that moment. Zelda needed him, and the witch was in his way. The idea that the witch could have hurt her caused an anger to boil within him like it never had before. Deep in his heart, he couldn't, wouldn't let anyone harm his princess. Not now. Not ever.

 

Then his enemy changed right in front of his eyes. The monstrous dragon that rose up in front of Link was the biggest, deadliest, and most beautiful creature he had ever seen. It was terrifying and stunning like being caught out in a powerful lightning storm where all you wanted to do was run and hide, but all you could do was watch in awe. He almost regretted having to fight her because he knew he would mar the wondrous majesty of the beast. But then he spotted Zelda again behind the black monstrosity, and his resolve hardened again.

 

When the jet of green flame came towards him, he instinctively threw up his shield, and rolled out of the way. He could feel the intense heat parting and swirling around him to the sides, but the metal shield on his arm remained cool to the touch, bending the flames around him. With only a brief moment's relief, he quickly glanced to his companions, who had thankfully gotten clear of the flames as well which Maleficent tried to spread broadly around the room.

 

The four men opened fire again on the dragon, and Link brought his weapon up too, but the shells hit her scales and just bounced off. A deep throated gurgling sound came from Maleficent's snout like laughter. “New plan!” Shepherd said as he looked Link in the eye, silently communicating with him in the way they used to long ago. Link just nodded slowly. Shepherd nodded back. “Link takes the dragon! We keep the grateful dead off his back!” Shepherd then started shooting at the skeletons and the other men followed suit, blowing apart and splintering bone from one grisly warrior after another.

 

Link turned his attention to the dragon. The bullets had been bouncing off the scales, but what about...? He raised his weapon, and the dragon just stood there daring him to shoot and waste his ammunition. Link took aim and fire a single shot. The shell flew through the air at the speed of sound, and before she knew it, the dragon's right eye exploded, and she screamed. He meant to take another shot, but quicker than he could react, she whipped the gun out of his hand with her tail. Behind the dragon, Zelda remained asleep, cocooned in a green mist of energy protecting her from the violence.

 

He leaped away from the swinging tail and drew his sword, approaching the dragon's side, shield up, sword down low and behind him. Maleficent eyed his movement with her remaining good eye, and then snorted derisively, jets of green flame shooting out from her nostrils. She swiped at him back handed with a forward claw, intending to swat him out of the way but he vaulted over the claw, raking her “hand” with the Master Sword as he sailed over it, inflicting a deep cut. The Master Sword carved through her armored scales like a hot knife through butter, actually seeming to glow when it came near her. She screamed again in pain, and looked at him again with murder in her eye. She inhaled again ready to spew flames at him but he launched himself quickly towards her and under her snout, bringing the sword up high and making another deep cut across her throat. She was forced to swallow the flames in pain, then she tried grabbing him with her uninjured claw, but he quickly dashed to the side and out of its way. She roared in frustration and pain.

 

Across from him, Shepherd, Rodney, Daniel, and Bill continued to shoot skeletons apart, the dead warriors' weapons lying where they fell from shattered bony hands. “Keep shooting, they're not coming back once you tear them apart enough!” Rodney yelled. They were keeping them at a good distance from themselves and Link.

 

“She must not be able to focus on us and Link at the same time.” Daniel said.

 

“Good to know!” Shepherd called out as he ejected a spent clip, and loaded a new one. “I just hope we don't run out of ammo before he takes her down!”

 

The dragon snapped at Link with her razor sharp teeth, but there was no more fire to come. He steadied himself right in front of her snout as she struck with her fangs, but he quickly hit her snout with his shield and then somersaulted up onto her head to drive the point of his blade down through her snout and into her mouth. Maleficent screamed again in pain, and she grabbed him with her good claw and flung him and his sword off of her, but Link landed on his feet.

 

“Yield!” He shouted at her. “Yield, and I will let you live!” He needed her alive now to wake his princess.

 

She lunged at him again, and he spun out of the way, slashing her right flank with his sword as he came around. Blood flowed from several deep cuts on the dragon's face, claws, side, and neck. “Yield!” He shouted at her. “You have no choice! Yield or be destroyed!”

 

She screamed in rage at him, and then, sniffing the air, she barreled past him, grabbed Doctor Lee with her claw, and then took off deeper into the ruined prison. The green mist around the princess failed, and behind him, the remaining skeleton warriors fell apart and vanished of their own accord.

 

“What happened? Where'd they go?” Rodney asked. “Hey, Where's Bill?”

 

“Bill!” Daniel shouted, but he was nowhere to be seen.

 

“She took him!” Link shouted back. “She took him deeper into the prison! She's pretty badly wounded, I think she's pulling all of her power back to try and heal herself!”

 

“How do you know that?!” Daniel asked.

 

Link didn't have a good answer for it, so he shrugged his shoulders.

 

It took Shepherd a second to process the new info. “Alright, Link, stay with Zelda, she's safest with you and the Master Sword next to her.” Shepherd told him. “We're going after Doctor Lee and the dragon. With all that blood on the ground she shouldn't be too hard to track, and we'll have a better chance now that she's already injured.”

 

“What if you can't get Maleficent to wake her up?” Link asked. Or what if I carved her up so badly that she dies before you get to her? He thought.

 

“We'll cross that bridge when we come to it!” Shepherd shouted at him.

 

“You could always try kissing her!” Rodney offered. “Maleficent's known for that one!”

 

“Huh?” Link responded. “What do you mean?”

 

“Long story. We'll tell it later if we have time!” Daniel said. And then the three men took off through the gateway deeper into the arbiter's grounds, leaving Link alone with the sleeping princess. He went up the stairs to stand guard over her.

 

She was beautiful, his princess. He couldn't help but think of her that way; his princess. There were feelings deep within him that stirred as he stared at her face. It was a face he instantly recognized and connected with, like a twin he had known in the womb. No, their relationship went deeper than that. He felt it.

 

He couldn't stand it, seeing her under the witch's spell. “How do I wake you up?” He asked her. “I've known you all of my life, seen you, thought about you no matter how hard I've tried not to. I came to save you, and now...” The words that came out of his mouth hit him forcefully. They were a deeper truth than just his seventeen years could explain. He came to save her, and he knew within himself that it was the whole reason for his existence. _She_ was the whole reason for his existence in this world. And in that moment, he let go and stopped fighting his feelings for her. “I will always come for you.” He said in a whisper, remembering those words from some other time and place.

 

They were words that he had spoken to her long, long ago, he remembered. Long before either of them had been born into this life, he had told her those words. “I will always come for you.” He understood now. He loved her, this young woman he had never met before. It wasn't just a crush on a celebrity he had never met. It was a deep and abiding love that refused to die no matter how many times he did. He had loved her in every lifetime he had lived, and he knew he always would. Her true name came to him, and he knew it was right. “Because I love you, Hylia.”

 

“Try kissing her.” Doctor McKay had told him. Just a few hours ago, it would have seemed grossly inappropriate and forward. But now, it just felt... right. It seemed like the most natural thing in the world. He stood over her, stroking her soft blond hair. Then he leaned forward, pressing his lips to hers.

 

It was like an explosion went off in his head as memory after memory came rushing into his mind like a flood. There was a childhood on a city floating on a great ocean, a gigantic underground cavern with libraries of special books, the face of his mother, Farore, as she worked in her lab, and the face of his Lantean martial arts instructor, an old veteran named Gladius who was unsurpassed in his ancient sword skills. There was an island in the sky, and a great statue of a goddess, and there was Zelda with him. There was an evil man that continued to haunt him, and he was reborn again, and again, and again because his love, his wife Hylia daughter of Nayru had chosen to go back and fight him. “Hyrule had to be protected”, she would tell him, “it's our responsibility to make it right.”. And he would always be there to protect her. He remembered. He remembered everything, from every lifetime he had lived, and from before all of his lifetimes as Link. He knew who he was, and who he had been. He remembered the fishing trips with Colonel Shepherd in detail, as well as his trips out to the far corners of this world with Doctor McKay. He finally understood Doctor Lee's joke about the fairy machine gun. In his mind's eye he saw twin boys born to him from his flame haired mortal wife from his previous life, Malon, and the tear in his heart as he struggled with his emotions for her and Zelda. He remembered his name, his real Lantean name from before his ascension and constant rebirths.

 

He drew back and studied the princess's, his wife's, face. In ten thousand years, it had never changed. Her bright blue eyes began to blink open and she looked into his face and smiled. “Copulus?” She asked, her eyes filled with love. “You came for me.” She said with relief.

 

“I will always come for you, my love.” Link told her, savoring the knowledge of who he and she were to each other.

 

And then, the force of the memories waned, and his recent teenage self, the high school kid who grew up on a ranch in Ordon, began to emerge once more, though the memories remained and nothing would be the same for him ever again. “Zelda?” he asked, clearing his throat..

 

“Link?” She asked in return, the recognition in her eyes fading slightly, but not disappearing entirely.

 

Once again, he nodded. “You know my name?” He asked. It was a stupid thing to ask, he thought, of course she knows my name.

 

“The Hero is always named 'Link.'” She said, smiling, she tried to sit up, and he helped her, carefully supporting her back with his hand. “It's tradition.” She then turned her head to face him again, looking him in the eyes. “How much did you remember?” She asked him.

 

“Everything.” He said.

 

“I see.” She responded.

 

“And you?” He asked.

 

“Everything also.” She responded. “I know who we both are.” Tears then began to well up in her eyes. “And I know that we have to stay apart again because of the way this world, my station in it as the crown princess, works.”

 

It was like a physical punch to his gut. Now, knowing everything and finally accepting how he really felt? They had to stay apart? “No.” He said firmly. “We'll find a way, but I'm not giving you up again.”

 

“They won't give us a choice.” She said, a tear running down her cheek.

 

“Then I won't give them one. I'm not letting you go again, not for them, not for Hyrule, not for anything. Once this is over, they can find another crown princess if they have to, or become a republic like the East. I don't care.” He was insistent.

 

“But I do, my love.” Zelda told him. “They need us to guide them. You've seen what has happened, what is happening with them. We still have so much work to do.”

 

“We can't coddle them forever. We only chose this because of the dark one. Once he's dealt with, they can continue on without us. We can return to Ordon, far away from Castleton, or go somewhere else in this world where they can't find us and live out the rest of these lives in peace.”

 

“Do you really believe we will ever have peace in this world? Do you really think they will let us?” Zelda replied, looking into his eyes.

 

“I don't intend to give them one.” Link told her.

 

“What was it you told me Colonel Shepherd once told you? That there will always be bad guys to face. Our work will never be done.” She said with some despair.

 

“They need to learn to stand up and face them on their own, or else we really will never be free, and they will never learn to move on to the next plane.” He reasoned with her, taking her in his arms.

 

“Someone may be watching,” she said in protest, though she welcomed his embrace.

 

“Let them.” Link replied.

 

She then remembered her captor and asked, “What about Maleficent?”

 

Link pointed to the bloody trail the dragon had left on the ground. “She took Doctor Lee and ran. The others went after her.”

 

“She's not dying is she?” Zelda asked, a strange concern creeping into her voice. “She's not wholly evil. There are reasons why she is what she has become.”

 

“You were in trouble, and she had threatened you.” Link said in his defense. “It was nothing a good potion can't cure. She's probably healing herself with a spell as we speak.”

 

* * *

 

The dragon had brought Bill into a stone chamber deeper in the prison. Blood pooled on the stone floor where the beast stopped and released the terrified scientist. His gun had slipped from his hands and lay back in the great hall they had just come from. Dragon's blood stained his gray jacket and pants from the cuts inflicted by the teenage swordsman Bill had been coming to know.

 

The dragon was surrounded with green energy, and began to shrink back down to the form of a tall woman, badly injured and bleeding from many, many cuts. One of her eye sockets was horrifying to look at as she quickly covered it, crying in pain. “Give it to me!” She demanded.

 

“Give what?!” Bill asked in terror.

 

A green ball of energy formed in her left hand and she threw it at Bill's feet where it exploded in crackling heat and light. “Give it to me now, little man, and I will let you live!”

 

“Look, I don't know what you're talking about!” Bill threw his hands up in terrified protest. “Just tell me what you're looking for, really! I'll give it to you!”

 

“The potion!” She screamed at him. “I smelled it on you! You have a vial of healing potion! Give it to me now!”

 

“The... what?” Bill said in confusion, trying to remember. “Oh!” he realized. The pink vial he had found in the Humvee, but he was pretty sure it was more than just healing potion... He dug it out of his bloodied jacket pocket. “You mean this?” He pulled it out and showed it to her.

 

“Yes, you fool! Give it to me or you will never see your princess awake again! If I die, she remains asleep forever!” She yelled at him.

 

“Okay! Okay!” He said, tossing the vial to her. He knew it was more than she thought it was. He also knew from the cartoon movie that Maleficent wasn't a human but a fairy, and in Hyrule fairies were supposed to be creatures of light, but, at least according to the most recent movie, Maleficent had turned dark and bitter because of the man who betrayed her for a crown. He hoped this was the same woman, and he was right about the fairy's tears.

 

She uncorked the vial and downed the pink liquid inside of it. Instantly she began to glow with an inner golden light that overpowered and fought the pale, sickly green energy that had surrounded her as her wounds healed.

 

“I feel... I feel powerful again!” She said. “I feel...” Tears came to her eyes, “Oh god, I feel.....” The darkness started bleeding out of her, flowing faster and faster as though it was fleeing something deadly to it, and the green energy that had surrounded her vanished to be replaced by the golden light.

 

She started sobbing as the light within her finally broke through the darkness that had enshrouded it and flushed it from her being. Great wailing sobs racked her entire body and echoed through the halls. “What have I become?” She cried. “What have I done to that poor defenseless baby? All those poor girls?”

 

Bill felt pity and compassion for the young, sorrowful woman he now saw in front of him. The fairy's tears had taken away the years of bitterness and pain from her, and unleashed the compassion that had always been there. The woman's remorse was deep and cleansing. “I'm... I'm sorry.” he said as he stepped towards her, not knowing how else to help. He put his arms around her, and she sobbed into his shoulder. He stood there with her awkwardly as she cried and cried.

 

“I have to go back and make it right.” She finally said, drawing away from Bill, sniffling as she did so. “Of course.” He said, not knowing what else to say.

 

“I have to set all of it right and change the events I set into motion.” She said. “You knew that, didn't you, little man? You knew what it would do to me?”

 

“I knew it would heal you.” Bill said honestly.

 

“Thank you.” She said sincerely. “I have never trusted human men since... Since, he took my wings. I suppose it's fitting that a human man heals me from it.”

 

“I'm sorry I couldn't give them back to you, but I think they're waiting for you if you try and make things right with Aurora.” Bill told her, remembering the movie he had seen.

 

“You know, you remind me of someone, a dear friend whom I lost recently.” Maleficent told him. “Please, bring the creature who murdered him to justice for me. I see now that I can't be the one to do it.”

 

“We will.” Bill told her with certainty. “What about Zelda?” He remembered.

 

Maleficent paused as though listening for something, and then smiled. “I suppose true love's kiss does exist after all.” She said. “Your princess will be just fine. And now, I must go. But before I do, allow me this small gift to you.” She reach out a finger and touched his forehead, whispering a few words. Then she said, “Farewell, fairy friend.”

And with that, a great field of golden light surrounded her, engulfing her body until it shone like the sun. And then she was gone.

 

“Good bye, Great Fairy Queen.” Bill said in a whisper.

 

* * *

 

The three men heard the screams and cries echoing through the halls and started running. “What was that?!” Rodney yelled. “Was that Maleficent?”

 

“Oh god, I hope she didn't die! We still need her alive.” Shepherd yelled back as he ran.

 

Then they heard the sobbing and slowed down as they neared the source. “What is going on?” Rodney asked. “Who's crying?”

 

“It sounds like a young woman.” Daniel observed. “Could it be her?” He asked.

 

Shepherd shrugged his shoulders, “I don't know.” He said, not knowing what to expect. As they entered the hall, he knew he didn't expect it when he saw Bill trying to comfort the golden glowing horned sorceress while she cried on his shoulder.

 

“What the...?” Shepherd started to say, then Daniel put his hand on Shepherd's shoulder to stop him, pointing to his ear and mouthing, “Listen.”

 

They heard the whole exchange between the two. When Maleficent finally disappeared, Rodney exclaimed, “I don't believe it.”

 

Bill turned his gaze to their direction and started walking towards them. “Hey guys. What's up?” He said nonchalantly.

 

The three men said nothing but just stared at him. Shepherd then wordlessly gestured towards him with both hands and said, “Okay, spill it.”

 

“What? Oh, that. Right, well I found a vial of fairy's tears in the truck after the wreck. In the game it fills the Hero with a fairy's light and energy to heal him completely. So, I figured if a dark fairy like Maleficent took it, it wouldn't just heal her body, but it might heal her heart as well. It looks like I was right.” Bill told them.

 

“Okay Bill, now I'm impressed.” Daniel told him.

 

“Thanks. It only took sixteen years.” Bill retorted.

 

“Mm-hmm.” Daniel agreed, nodding.

 

“So Zelda's going to be okay?” Rodney asked, trying to keep up.

 

“Yeah, she said true love's kiss does exist after all.” Bill told them.

 

“True love's....” Rodney looked confused, and then understanding broke over his features. “Oh...” He said. “Oh, we've got to get back to Link and Zelda.”

 

“Let's walk slowly. It's been a long day, and we've got a long journey back.” Shepherd suggested, slowing Rodney down.

 

 


	33. Chapter 33

Chapter 33

 

It was hot and dusty that mid-morning up on the machine gun emplacements on the border fence between Lake Hylia and the desert. The Hylian corporal on duty tried to wipe the muddy sweat from his face and only succeeded in smearing it around. There were days he wondered what they were really doing up here because nothing ever happened. It seemed to him like the Bulblins had finally wised up and stopped trying to raid the town a long time ago.

 

A fly buzzed around his head and he swatted at it, missing the fly and hitting himself in the face instead. Across the way, the other guardsman on duty at the opposing emplacement saw it and laughed.

 

“Keep your eyes on the desert, private!” He yelled in embarrassment at the lower ranking man. He raised his own binoculars to his face to do a quick sweep.

 

“Nope, nothing, as usual.” He said as he turned his head slowly from south to north. “Wait a second, what's that?” He trained his binoculars on the slow moving specks and raised the magnification. “Private, we've got hostiles to the north! Rotate your guns...” He started to say. Then the “hostiles” came into better focus. “Hold!” He shouted. “Hold your fire!” There were six people riding on Bulblin boars. Four of them, wearing gray guard uniforms, rode alone. The fifth boar had one person in green riding with one in pink and silver in front of him. “Well, I'll be damned.” He said, lowering his binoculars.

 

He picked up his two way radio to call to his guard captain. “Sir, you know those lunatics that came through yesterday wanting to run off into the desert?”

 

“Yes.” Came the terse reply. Of course you do, the corporal thought, smiling at the memory. How could anyone forget?

 

“It looks like they've returned, and they've got someone else with them. It looks like someone dressed in pink and silver,” he took another look with the binoculars, “I think it's the missing princess.”

 

“I'll be right there.” The guard captain said hastily.

 

“Yes, sir.” The corporal replied.

 

* * *

 

“Well, they're not shooting at us, I guess that's a good sign.” Daniel said hopefully.

 

“Yeah, nothing says 'welcome back!' like not getting riddled with bullets.” Rodney retorted.

 

They had spent the night in outside the ruined prison in the abandoned Bulblin camp, each of the men taking watch. Zelda had sat up watching the stars with Link on his watch.

 

“How long has it been since we just watched the stars together like this?” She asked as she sat next to him.

 

“Too long.” He said, holding her hand.

 

The desert night was cool, and she began to shiver. Link took off his leather jacket which he had still been wearing and put it around her shoulders.

 

“Thank you.” She had said. Her mind had been thoughtful for a while. “You'll have to come back to the palace with me. You know that don't you? Your life will never be the same again.”

 

“It never is.” He agreed. “I'm not leaving you again.”He had said.

 

She had put her head against his shoulder, and they just sat like that undisturbed while the other men slept.

 

And now it begins, Link thought as they came up to the border fence. “Open the gate!” he called out.

 

“On whose authority?” Came the guardsman's response.

 

Shepherd then called out, “On the authority of her royal highness, Princess Zelda, guardsman.” Motioning to Zelda, who also looked up at the guardsman.

 

Zelda picked up her cue, “Open the gate guardsman!” She shouted, “Now!” Her tone of authority brooking no room for argument.

 

“Yes, ma'am!” The guardsman called back, and they could hear the sounds of people rushing back and forth in a hurry. Finally, the gate rolled back on its small wheels, and they were allowed to pass through the fence with their mounts.

 

“It's best to turn them back loose into the desert,” the guard corporal told them, pointing at the boars. “We don't have anywhere to keep them.”

 

Zelda looked at the men she was with and said, “Do it.” And they all dismounted and pulled the saddles off of the creatures before hitting them on their backsides and turning them back loose into the desert. She then turned to the guardsman in front of her, “Where is your commanding officer?” She demanded.

 

“I'm right here, your highness.” Came the voice of a white mustached Hylian captain. “And I speak for all of us when I say that we are so glad you are safe.”

 

“I'm glad to hear it.” She said. “If it wasn't for the Hero and these brave _Ordonian_ men, I might not have come back at all.” Shepherd had told her of their encounter with the prejudiced guard captain, and she noticed the red scratches from the man's encounter with Link. Good, she thought. If only the other racists in Hyrule could be dealt with so easily. “You will provide us with transport and escort to Hyrule Castle.” She ordered.

 

“Y... Yes, your highness.” He stammered out, looking in terror at the men he had harassed the previous day. “If you wish, you can take my personal vehicle. It's more comfortable than a guardsman's unit. And I'll send two units to escort you.”

 

“That will be satisfactory.” She told him.

 

“We'll need to make a couple of telephone calls too. We have to notify the palace of the Princess's successful rescue.” Shepherd joined in.

 

“Of course, general.” The guard captain said. No trace of disrespect appeared in his voice. “Right this way.”

 

Overhearing the conversation, Daniel couldn't help but smirk. “Remind me not to get on her bad side.” He whispered to Rodney in the background.

 

“You haven't seen her bad side yet.” Rodney replied. “Believe me, you don't want to.”

 

“Personal experience?” Daniel asked.

 

“Long story.” Rodney told him.

 

“I'd love to hear it.” Bill said, still overjoyed at his new found ability to understand the language of Hyrule.

 

“We all would.” Link chimed in.

 

Rodney threw him a dirty look, “Later, okay?” He said, annoyed.

 

* * *

 

Twenty minutes later they were riding in a blue, luxury electric car down Hyrule's Highway 2a escorted by two gray R.H.M.G. units with red and blue flashing lights in front of their car and behind it. Cars that had been on the road pulled over to let them pass as they sped on by towards Castleton. The people that had pulled over to the side watched the small parade wondering who was in the blue car that merited such attention.

 

It was a seven hour drive from the Lake Hylia barracks to Castleton under escort, but they only stopped once at a traveler's rest area for a rest and food, and then to recharge the car and get more water for the guard units. For her own protection, Zelda was kept away from the rest of the people stopped there, though many tried to come close to see what all the commotion was about while Daniel and Bill took what funds they had to get dinner for all of them from the diner that was there and bring it back in to go bags. Link never left Zelda's side. The four additional guardsmen from Lake Hylia kept watch to either side of them when they were out of the car to stretch their legs.

 

They finally arrived in Castleton later in the evening, though they could see the glow of the lights of the city from much farther away.

 

“That looks like New York!” Bill said.

 

“Yeah, or London.” Daniel agreed. “It's grown a lot since we were last here.”

 

The city itself began about ten or twenty miles from the ancient castle walls. It started with simple brick buildings and outlying business and homes, and the graduated into row houses, and then metal and glass skyscrapers until they crossed the drawbridge of the ancient fortress wall of Old Castle Town. Inside the wall, it looked as though a great deal of effort went in to preserving the original look of Hyrule's ancient capital, though there were some obvious “upgrades.”

 

“Are those satellite dishes?” Rodney asked. “And power and telephone lines?”

 

“Yes, of course. Did you think we were still in the dark ages, Doctor McKay?” Zelda asked him.

 

“Well, no, it's just... It's been a long time since I've been back here.” Rodney said. “I hadn't expected all of... this.” He said.

 

Over head, the whine of a dirigible airship's engines could be heard. “Wow.” Rodney said again, seeing the source of the noise.

 

The crowds of many different kinds of people in the mostly pedestrian streets parted for the procession of vehicles as they continued across the cobblestone streets. They reached the fountain in the middle of town, and circled the roundabout before proceeding north and into the palace grounds.

 

“We're home.” Zelda said with relief.

 

* * *

 

King Daphnes had been pacing the ancient room for hours ever since he had received news that his daughter's escort had almost arrived. The old council table, worn from centuries of use, stood empty in the middle of the room. He stopped pacing and pressed his hands on the back of his own, high backed seat at the table, gripping the carved Deku wood back until his knuckles turned white.

 

His eyes were bloodshot, and his salt and pepper hair and beard were much less combed and cared for than they should have been. He had reacted with pure joy when he received his “general's” telephone call.

 

“You have no idea how grateful I am to you and your men, Colonel Shepherd.” He had told him earlier that day. “I look forward to meeting you and your men in person. You have my deepest, and sincerest thanks.”

 

And now they were almost here. He could hear footfalls on the stone floor outside the chamber and the wooden door opened on the chamber. Four men entered wearing the gray of Hyrule's military guard. One entered wearing the traditional green clothes of the Hero the King had seen in the pictures and portraits adorning the castle walls all of his life, and then finally, in the pink, white and silver business suit she had been taken in entered the young woman who had been the joy of his life. He couldn't contain himself any longer as he rushed over her to hold his daughter in his muscular arms, tears flowing freely. “Oh my little girl!” He said to her. “Oh my dear sweet little one. I thought I had lost you!” He kissed her the top of her hair, pressing her firmly to his chest, sniffling with tears as he did so. “I thought I'd lost you.” He said again.

 

“I'm okay, father,” she said calmly, “really.” but she didn't push away from him. After several minutes he finally let go of her, turning to see and address her rescuers. Four seemingly Ordonian men, and of course, the Hylian Hero.

 

“You have no idea, gentlemen... You have no idea how grateful I am to see you here and meet each one of you. Two of you... I mean of course three of you,” He said acknowledging Link as well, “I know of from my history books, and of course you will receive every consideration from me and my family. My family, my palace, and my fortune are at your disposal. Ask anything you need or want and I promise you, it will be yours.”

 

“Thank you, your majesty. We didn't really do this for any reward, and we eventually need to return to our own world.” Daniel said.

 

“Of course, of course. And so you will, but don't think this king's gratitude is miserly. While you are here, you will want for nothing. I will see to it... uh?” He then searched for the man's name.

 

“Doctor Daniel Jackson, your majesty.” Daniel said.

 

“Doctor Jackson, then.” The king snapped his fingers, “I have heard of you too! From my ancestor, King John's journals! From the trouble with his brother Talon! I was just reading them last night as a matter of fact.”

 

“Thank you your majesty, but our job isn't over yet.” Shepherd told him. “The sorceress who kidnapped your daughter is gone, but not the bigger threat that brought her,” and then gestured to Link and Zelda, “and them here to this world. We can't go anywhere until that bad guy has been neutralized.”

 

“Of course, and I wouldn't want you to.” The king replied. “Again, I am very grateful for your continued service to my kingdom. Your rank in the Royal Hyrule Military Guard, General Shepherd, will be made absolutely official as of today. In all of Hyrule's military, there will be only myself and one other man higher than you for as long as you are here.” The king said, glancing at Link.

 

And then he turned to the green and brown leather clad teenager who refused to leave his daughter's side. “Great goddesses, you look exactly like the portraits in the palace halls,” the king said. My own ancestor, here, in the flesh, he thought. “I welcome you home, Hero of Hyrule.” He said reverently, tracing a series of three triangles over his head, and then his right and left shoulders.

 

The teenager knelt awkwardly in front of the king as he had seen other people do all of his life, and the older man would have none of it. “It is I who should be bowing to you, Hero.” The king told him. “You have saved our world, and our princess, countless times and once again you have returned to deliver us again. No, you will never need to bow to me. I won't have it. Not from my own ancestor reborn. Not now, not ever.” He said, standing Link up again. “I have already given orders for you, my son. You will have your ancient rooms again here in the Castle across from my daughter's. I have no doubts now that the seal will open for you. And you will retake your ancient place as Hyrule's supreme military commander. Only I will supersede your authority where Hyrule's military is concerned.”

 

Zelda then took Links hand and squeezed it reassuringly in front of her father. It was a gesture he couldn't fail to miss. Of course, he thought. What better man could be found for her? Who else could be more appropriate? The king nodded slightly in approval. “Who am I to oppose destiny?” He asked out loud, and his not so secret message was understood perfectly by both of them.

 

“Your majesty,” Link began, overwhelmed, but needing to ask, “I need to make a telephone call to my foster family back in Ordon. I want to let them know I'm okay. We didn't know if I would be coming back.”

 

The king was surprised by such a simple, honest request. Yes, he certainly approved of the young man. “Of course, my son. And we will do better than that for them as soon as we can.”

 

“I'll take him to a telephone, father.” Zelda offered.

 

“Of course, dear one.” The king told her.

 

As the two teenagers left the room, he turned back to the four men from another reality. “I am overjoyed at what you have done for us, and for my family personally. I can't honestly ask any more of you than you have already done.” He told them.

 

“It sounds like there's a 'but' in there somewhere.” Rodney said.

 

“But,” he continued, “you have come at a time when we may need your military and scientific expertise most desperately. Just this morning, the Republic of Hyrule has declared war on our United Kingdom.” The King explained. “Their new president has been pushing his propaganda teams for months since his election last fall to rally the eastern people against us, and he's finally gotten enough support for it with the politicians of his government.”

 

“New president?” Shepherd asked. “What's his name?”

 

“Xehanort.” The King replied. “Ansem Xehanort.”

 


	34. Chapter 34

Chapter 34

 

It was near bedtime when the telephone rang in Russel's farmhouse outside of Ordonville that Tuesday night in Hyrule's late spring. He and his wife Tara had kept the television turned to the satellite news channel for the last two days straight, and they had just about given up hope for anything new for the day.

 

There had been something on earlier about some kind of a small R.H.M.G. escort which had traveled from Lake Hylia's resort town to Castleton in a hurry. The procession had gone straight to the palace, their only stop along the way being a rest area where other travelers caught snippets of video on camera of heavily armed military guardsmen protecting someone of some importance, though no one could get close enough to find out who. The old veteran and his wife paid careful attention to it just in case it had anything to do with their foster son who had ridden off two days before.

 

Their son Colin had been withdrawn and moody ever since his older brother's departure. Russel couldn't blame him. The eleven year old boy had stayed home from school the day before and that day, and spent most of those two days upstairs in his bedroom. And his father couldn't really explain the reasons why Link had to go, and why he had to let him, not to Colin, and only barely to his wife, Tara who had been frantic ever since Sunday night. She knew the sacred stories just as well as Russel did, maybe even better because she grew up devout. But the way she responded... He guessed it hadn't really been as real to her as it had become to him. It was with a mother's worried heart that she kept the television on the news channel, hoping and fearing for something about her lost boy.

 

Russel caught the telephone on the third ring, “Hello?” He said.

 

“Uncle Russel?” A very familiar voice asked, filling Russel with relief and exasperation. “Link!” He exclaimed so loudly that Tara came running into the kitchen. “Link where are you? Are you okay?” He asked frantically.

 

“I'm okay uncle Russel. I'm just fine. I wanted to call and tell you that. I'm in Castleton now.” His foster son told him.

 

Waves of relief flowed over him as he relayed the message to his wife, who put her hand over her mouth and started crying, the pent up emotions and stress breaking through. “Does he need us to come and get him?” She asked through her sobs. Russel relayed the question, “Do you need us to come and get you son? Exactly where in Castleton are you?”

 

“No, I don't need you to come and get me. I'm fine. I have to go soon. Listen, there's probably going to be something on the news about me tomorrow. Don't freak out, okay?” Link said.

 

“Are you in some kind of trouble son? Did you do something illegal? Do you need bail money?” Russel asked, worried.

 

“No, no.” Link laughed. It was good to hear his laugh again, Russel thought. “It's nothing like that. It's good news, I think.”

 

“One more question before you go, son.” Russel asked. “Did you find her? Is she safe?”

 

“Yeah uncle Russel. I found her. She's safe and sound. I'm here with her now. I've got to go. I'll try and call again really soon, okay? Tell Aunt Tara and Colin I love them, and I love you too.” Link told him. They were glorious words for him to hear as Russel's heart swelled with pride. “I love you too, son, and I'm proud of you.”

 

The conversation ended, and the line went dead. Russel hung up the phone. “He's okay. He found her and they're both back in Castleton. Everything's going to be okay.” He told his wife.

 

“When is he coming home?” Tara asked.

 

“He didn't say, but he said there'll be something on the news tomorrow about him that we need to watch.” Russel told her.

 

“He's not in trouble with the guard is he?” Tara asked.

 

“He said no. He said he thought it was good news.” Russel told her. “We should go tell Colin.”

 

* * *

 

The next day at noon, Russel, Tara and Colin were all sitting on the couch in the living room in front of the television waiting for the news Link had promised them. “When is it supposed to come on?” Colin kept asking. “I don't know, he didn't say.” Russel told his son. “He just said there would be something today.”

 

The telephone rang and Tara went into the kitchen to answer it. Colin and his father couldn't hear what the conversation was about, but it sounded serious. When she came back in, she said, “I don't know what to tell them. That was the High School wanting to know why Link hasn't been to his classes or shown up at school for the last three days. I can't tell them he's missing, and I can't tell them he's sick, so what do I tell them?”

 

“What did you tell them?” Russel asked.

 

“I told the school secretary 'thank you for calling,' and that I would get back to her as soon as I could.” She said, frustrated. “What was he thinking? That he could just run off and no one would notice that he was gone without explanation?”

 

“I don't think anyone would have believed his explanation.” Russel said.

 

“You did.” Tara replied. “And I still can't believe you let him go, a seventeen year old boy, Russel!”

 

They had been through that argument so many times over the last three days that Russel was absolutely grateful when the regular news was interrupted. “Look, something's happening on the news!” He said excitedly. “I hope this is what we were waiting for.”

 

“Do you think Link's going to get a medal or something?” Colin asked. “Is that what they're announcing?”

 

“I don't know, son.” Russel said. “Let's listen and find out.”

 

The picture on the television changed from the “BREAKING NEWS” logo to a group of reporters with still picture and video cameras, microphones, and note pads all standing or sitting about ten or fifteen feet from a podium which had been set up in front of the steps which formed the entry to the royal palace of Hyrule Castle. There were the sounds of many people talking at once, scrambling to connect pieces of broadcasting equipment, or speculating on what the announcement might be. The picture of an attractive female Hylian reporter came into view, and she began to describe the scene. “We're here live in Castleton at the Royal Palace where King Daphnes the fifteenth has called a press conference concerning the recent abduction of the crown princess, Zelda. We've been hearing through unconfirmed reports that the princess was returned to the palace last night at about nine o'clock by way of R.H.M.G. motorcade. The King has taken the unusual, though not unprecedented step of pre-empting all the networks for the announcement he's about the make.”

 

“Wow. It must be really important, don't you think, Dad?” Colin asked. “And it has to do with Link!”

 

Russel's heart started beating faster. “I guess so.” He said in reply. “I know Link helped bring the princess back, at least that's what he said on the phone. He did say he didn't want us to freak out at the news.”

 

“There is also some speculation that the announcement may have something to do with yesterday's declaration of war by the Republic of Hyrule upon our United Kingdom.” The reporter continued. In the background at the podium, a well dressed government official came up and looked as though he intended to speak, and the camera zoomed away from the reporter and onto the official. “Ladies and gentlemen,” he said, “His Majesty, King Daphnes the fifteenth. King of Red Lions, Defender of the Faith, Holder of the Wind Waker, and Beloved of the goddesses!” He announced, and the conversations in the background ceased, and everything became very, very quiet.

 

Up to the podium came a handsome middle-aged man of powerful, once very muscular build, with salt and pepper mustache and beard wearing stylish gray trousers, a deep red coat, white dress shirt and red tie. On his head, above his pointed Hylian ears, he wore a broad band of gold set with red, blue, and green jewels around the band and the royal winged Triforce emblazoned over his forehead. Everything about his demeanor and presence suggested the word “majesty.”

 

“Thank you for coming out on such short notice. I know this is an inconvenience to many people, but the things I have to say I believe must be heard by all of our kingdom now more than ever.” His majesty began. Russel and his family stared at the television screen intently, barely daring to breathe.

 

The king continued, reading from a set of notes on the podium in front of him, “The Sacred Texts tell us of Hyrule's ancient past, where our world was in constant threat by a Demon King, an evil god who wanted to enslave all mortals and force us to worship him. In response to this evil god, the great goddess Hylia went to war with him and sealed him away, choosing to be reborn as a mortal time after time to ensure that he never broke free. As part of her plan, a Hero was born to us as well to fight the Demon King should he ever escape his bonds. In every generation for thousands of years, the Lady Hylia and her Hero watched over us as the Princess named Zelda, and the Hero named Link. That is, they did so until two hundred and thirty years ago, when the Demon King was finally destroyed by the Hero with help from great heroes from outside of our world. Then the Lady Hylia and the Hero returned to their rightful places among the gods.”

 

The audience of reporters seemed uncertain of the beginning of the king's speech. The looks on their faces begged the question, “Where is he going with this?” Most people of Hyrule, whether they were religious or not, knew the old tales and myths of the “Legend of Zelda,” and they wondered what connection it might have with anything in the present day.

 

The king continued, “As many of you know, three days ago my daughter, the crown princess Zelda, was kidnapped by forces unknown to us at the time. She was rescued and returned to us last night by a very special young man. He is a young man Hyrule has not seen in two hundred and thirty years.” The king then motioned to someone behind him to come up and join him at the podium, and a young man in archaic green clothes, cap, and chain mail complete with a sword and shield strapped to his back stepped up to the podium with the crown princess stepping up right beside him. The King, who stood almost a head taller than either of them stepped behind the couple and placed his left hand on Link's shoulder in a gesture of obvious approval and acceptance, and his right hand covered Zelda's with affection. The young man was holding the princess's hand tightly, and looked very nervous. Although there was something in his eyes, a maturity born of conflict that went deeper than his apparent teenage years.

 

The audience of reporters gasped as they saw him and Zelda, who wore a traditional pink and silver dress decorated with the royal winged Triforce, side by side. Flashbulbs of still picture cameras could be heard and seen going off in rapid-fire succession in the back ground. Several of the reporters were seen to be tracing a series of three triangles around their heads and shoulders. Within seconds, the television screen split into two views as the news broadcast brought up traditional portraits of the Hero and Princess for comparison.

 

“Oh my.” Tara said. “Russel, it's Link. The portrait of the Hero, it's our Link!”

 

“Yeah, I know, Tara. I've known for a long time now.” Russel told her. “That's why I had to let him go.” He said, hoping that she now finally understood his decision, and how hard it was for him.

 

“The Hero of Courage and the Princess of Wisdom have been reborn and have returned to guide us through a darkness which threatens to engulf us all. Yesterday, the Eastern Republic of Hyrule chose to declare war upon our kingdom. They do not agree with our ideas of equality, and the freedom to choose what path a person might take for himself. Their newly elected president wants to enforce his own ideas of perfection upon us through military might. The goddesses have responded to this man's evil rhetoric. They have shown which is the side of right by sending their champions back to us in our hour of need.” The king went on.

 

“Is that true? Did the goddesses really send Link to us, Dad?” Colin asked in awe.

 

“I don't know son. The royal family and the Sages speak for the goddesses, so if the king believes it, maybe.” Russel said, struggling with the idea himself.

 

“To this end, I am no one to stand in the way of the divine plans,” King Daphnes said humbly, “And so I have, effective immediately, restored the Hero Link to his traditional and ancient position as Supreme Commander of the Royal Hyrule Military Guard, answerable only to myself and the crown princess.”

 

“What!” Colin shouted. His mother and father weren't far off, their jaws dropping open.

 

“This decision is final, and his term as such will extend for the rest of his natural life, and into the reign of my daughter when she takes the crown as queen. In our hour of darkness, the goddesses have sent us two arrows of light to pierce and shatter the darkness. Let us pray to them for the courage, wisdom, and power to do what needs to be done in the coming days. That is all. Thank you, and good day.”

 

Immediately the stunned crowd of reporters, those who had been sitting, jumped to their feet and began asking questions, and snapping more photos. Russel, Tara, and Colin just stared at the television, stunned. Then after a few minutes, Tara spoke up, “Well, I guess I don't have to call the school back now, do I?”

 

“No,” Russel agreed, “I think they know where Link is now.”

 

“Hey Dad, it's the Triforce.” Colin said, pointing at each of the three persons the cameras were focusing on. “Look, Zelda is Wisdom to the right, Link is courage to the left, and the king is power at the top. Did the king do that on purpose?”

 

“I don't know, son.” Russel said, but it wouldn't have surprised him.

 

The news continued as questions were asked by reporters, and the king calmly answered some of them, “Yes, the seal on the Hero's chambers has been successfully opened. Link got a good night's sleep last night in his own room.” The king responded to one question.

 

Another reporter asked something that the family couldn't quite hear through the television's speakers, but Link responded by drawing the long, very sharp, sapphire hilted sword with the winged cross guard and gold Triforce emblem on it. Again the television screen was split into two views, one being the live broadcast, and the other being a very old photograph of the Master Sword, taken centuries ago. The reporters were comparing the two and unable to come to any other conclusion in that moment other than they were one and the same Sacred Blade. “Is that really the Master Sword? For all we know it could be a clever forgery!” One reporter called out, to which question Link responded with a voice like steel, “Would you like to see for yourself?” And he offered the hilt to the man. The reporter sheepishly declined, sitting back down. The king could barely hide his smirk at the man being put in his place.

 

“I noticed the Hero and the Princess holding hands. Is there some special relationship between the two that the kingdom should be aware of.” Another female reporter called out. Link and Zelda both blushed crimson, though neither could hide the smile that came to them. The king then responded for them, “That is a private matter for the royal family to discuss at the appropriate moment. But I will tell you that if such a thing were to happen, I would not stand in its way.”

 

“His majesty's really throwing himself out there to support Link in front of the media, isn't he?” Tara observed in wonder.

 

“He has to.” Russel said in reply. “If they sense any disapproval from him, they'll tear Link apart and convince the people to refuse to accept him. His majesty can't allow that, not if he really believes Link to be who he says he is. He's a good man, King Daphnes, but he's got to play the game with the media to get the public on Link's side in order for him to win the game with the members of parliament. They won't be too happy that he made this decision without their being able to discuss it to death first.” Russel observed.

 

“Can he make that decision on his own?” Colin asked.

 

“Our constitution says he can, whether some parties in parliament like it or not.” Russel responded. “The royal family has full and sole administration of the military apart from the civilian government, especially in times of war. He can do anything he likes with the R.H.M.G. and they can't do or say anything about it, much as they'd like to. It's the same with the Sage's temples and religious structures. Parliament has no say in how they're run or administered.”

 

The king then finished taking questions and he, his daughter, and Link retreated back into the palace. The live coverage on the television cut away to the studio where pundits and commentators already began their discussion and criticism of the king's announcement that day.

 

Just then the phone rang again and Tara got up to go get it again while Russel and Colin continued to watch to see if there would be any more information. The pundits argued and argued tearing apart each part of the recent report and trying analyze it for any hidden meanings or social commentary. “Wow, they're really dumb, aren't they?” Colin said in amazement. Russel just smiled and chuckled at his son's astuteness.

 

Within ten minutes, while Tara was still on the telephone another round of new information on the new Hero came on the screen, and the anchor at the news desk was cranking it out as fast as he could. “This just in, we've now learned that the new Hero is actually Link Faroson, a seventeen year old junior at Ordonville High School in Ordonville. He's the captain of the high school fencing team, and is something of a local hero in the rural town.” The screen then went to the local news footage of the past weekend where Link had saved the Finniel family from a bad house fire in town. “He lives with his foster parents, Russel and Tara Swordsmith, a local Ordonian goat rancher family. It says here, from out research that Russel Swordsmith is a retired Lieutenant Captain of the R.H.M.G. 3rd Cavalry Division and...” He checked his notes twice, “a hero himself it seems. Link's foster father is the recipient of at least a dozen decorations for valor in combat including the Royal Medal of Courage, our kingdom's highest military honor for... wow.” He exclaimed. “He fought off three bands of Bulblin raiders for days with nothing but a sword, shield, bow and arrows by himself while protecting the rest of his cavalry unit, about a dozen men and their mounts who had been seriously injured in a explosive device ambush. And all of that with a broken leg from the explosion. And this is our new Hero's foster father? Talk about the right man for the job.” The anchor said with a deep respect and wonder. “I'm not making this up folks, this gentleman's service records are a part of the public record, we just got them from the Ministry of Defense.”

 

Colin stared at his father in amazement. “You never told me any of that, Dad.”

 

Russel looked uncomfortable and embarrassed. “I wish they hadn't said all that to the whole world. It was a long time ago, and I couldn't save everybody. I kept the raiders away, but the heat and dehydration took good friends of mine, and there was nothing I could do to fight that.” He said sadly. “I wasn't any hero those days. I was just the only one left standing. I wasn't going to let the green bastards have any of my buddies. If our roles were reversed, any one of the other men would have done the same.”

 

Tara came back into the living room after the report. “That was Mala Finniel,” she said. “Everyone in town's seen the news. They're all wondering what's going on, and if that's really our Link.”

 

Just then there was a knock at the front door. Russel got up from the couch and walked over to open the door. At the front porch in his gray dress uniform, everything cleaned, pressed, polished and shining was an old friend of his, the guard captain from the R.H.M.G. barracks in Ordonville, Dali Garrows.

 

“Dali, good to see you!” Russel said extending his hand, which the other man took. “C'mon in, the family and I were just watching the news.”

 

The guardsman came in, smiling politely, “It's good to see you too Russel. We missed you the other night for the game of cards. Now,” he motioned to the T.V., “The whole world knows why.”

 

“Yeah, we've been a bit worried for him the last few days, but at least we now know he's okay. So what brings you by?” Russel asked.

 

“My men and I are here in advance of the Royal Family Protection Service, we're supposed to keep your property under guard until they arrive.” Dali told him.

 

“Royal Family Protection, what? Is his majesty coming here?” Tara asked, coming over to join the conversation. “But I haven't cleaned house in two days!”

 

“No, no, Tara. At least I don't think he or the princess is coming out here just yet. No, the R.F.P. is for you folks.” Dali said.

 

“What?!” Russel replied in shock. “But we're not part of the royal family!” He protested.

 

“According to Hyrule Castle, you are now.” Dali said, pulling out the sheet of paper which carried his orders and the king's personal seal which adorned them.

 

“When did you get these orders?” Russel asked.

 

“Earlier this morning. We were told to wait until the announcement before we carried them out. The R.F.P. should be here within the hour. I'm sorry we dropped the ball and didn't get out here sooner, but I and everyone else at the barracks were stunned to see your boy on the news. I mean, I knew he was the best duelist in Hyrule, but the Hero? Really?”

 

“We were just as shocked as everyone else.” Tara said. “I couldn't believe it when Russel let him run off on some fool chase to save her highness, and then when they came out together holding hands? I couldn't believe he actually did it. But that's our Link, he's never backed down from a fight. Never.”

 

“Don't I know it, Tara.” Dali said, having some experience with the young man himself.

 

Russel just stood there looking at the paper with Dali's orders on them. He hadn't expected this. He knew letting Link go was the right decision, the _only_ decision he could have made and still been at peace with himself. But he hadn't foreseen the consequences of it, or the disruption in their lives it would bring. He went to the open door to see what his friend meant to find red and blue flashing lights forming a ring around his property with uniformed guardsmen carrying heavy weapons patrolling across his goat ranch. He could hear the panicked bleating of his animals out in the field as they ran from one side of the fenced pasture to the other trying to avoid the strangers.

 

“I didn't expect this.” He said. “I didn't know...”

 

“None of us did, Russel. But the goddesses don't always give us what we want or expect, only what we need, and it's not always what we think we need either.” Dali responded.

 

“So what happens once the R.F.P. gets here?” Russel asked.

 

“I don't know yet. I think it depends on how the world takes the news.” Dali said.

 

Russel heard some commotion from outside and went back to the door to see what was going on. Down the driveway where their property met the road, he could see three or four large vehicles with news channel logos on their sides trying to get past the guardsmen who had posted their units there. There were annoyed reporters who got out of their vehicles and tried to push past the armed guardsmen in question. The gray uniformed men weren't having any of it and had their rifles pointed at them, shouting warnings. Russel knew a couple of the guards involved. They played cards with him and Dali on Monday nights. “I'd hate for them to have to use those on anyone, not just because of us.” He said.

 

“King's orders.” Dali said. “Full protection. No one but friends and family are allowed onto your property, on penalty of arrest or,” He said drawing a breath and letting it out, “if they get within ten feet of you without permission, death. Same boundaries as for the royal family. Speaking of which, I need to get a list from you of people permitted onto your property for the R.F.P.”

 

“Well, I guess we won't have any annoying salesmen coming around any more.” Russel observed.

 

On the television, local news affiliates were interviewing members of Link's fencing team, his teachers from the high school, and anyone else they thought they could glean information about the teenager from. Almost everyone gave positive, even glowing comments about their varsity fencing team captain. Some of the girls were even saying how jealous they were of the princess now.

 

“This is going to get out of hand.” Tara said, watching it.

 

“It already has, dear.” Russel said. “It already has.”

 


	35. Chapter 35

Chapter 35

 

The castle gardens were cool, peaceful, and comforting. The perfumed scent of dozens of flowering plants in splashes of colors highlighted and accentuated the statuary and topiaries which filled it, giving it the resemblance of a living museum of art. A landscaped brook of water bubbled and gurgled lazily along a cobblestone path around the gardens.

 

Zelda and Link sat on a stone bench in the middle of the gardens. Zelda held Link's trembling hands in his own. They had only been able to flee to this place within the last hour and he was still shaking from the previous, traumatic experience. “I hated that.” He said for the third time. “I don't recall any past life where I had to face... had to face... reporters.”

 

Zelda continued to try and hide her smile out of compassion for the man she cared about sitting next to her. She had grown up in front of the cameras, and had been forced to learn, from a very early age, how to handle them. All in all, the day's press conference had been pretty relaxed in comparison to some she had had to field. But Link, no matter what age he had lived in, had always been more comfortable dealing with those horrors that had to be faced with a sword, not a diplomatic answer.

 

“Actually, you did quite well for your first time.” She told him. “Father was impressed you handled it as well as you did.” It was true. He had whispered to her as they walked back through the palace gates that he almost expected Link to run once he saw the cameras if the look on his face had been any indication. He was happy the young man had stuck it out.

 

“Am I going to have to do that again?” He asked, terrified at her answer.

 

She smiled, held his hands to her heart and said, “As little as possible, I promise you, _Hero_.” She had intended her emphasis on the last word to be a tease. “As long as you handle the monsters and dragons, I'll deal with the press. Deal?” She asked, kissing his knuckles gently.

 

“Deal.” Link responded. He then looked around at the gardens, and it stirred a memory in him. “I remember these gardens, long, long ago. You were looking in the window over there.” He pointed. “We were just kids. We didn't even know each other at that time.”

 

“I remember.” She said. It was, literally, lifetimes ago. “So many bad memories.” She said sadly.

 

“You were never a bad memory. Not to me.” Link said.

 

“I'm surprised.” She said. “I dragged you into this so many times.”

 

“It was my choice. It was always my choice, as it is now.” He told her.

 

“It didn't surprise me when you chose to be with someone else the last time. It hurt, but it didn't surprise me.” She said, speaking of things that happened in their last mortal life.

 

“I let too many things get in the way of us the last time. We were both too young at first. You were the princess, I was just some orphan kid from some village in Ordon, and neither of us had our full memories. I didn't do anything to really save you that time, and to be honest I thought I was beneath you.” He remembered. “We never got the chance to reconnect the way we should have. Our duties kept us apart.” He then added, “You never told me it hurt you.”

 

“You were happy with Malon, and I wanted you to have that happiness. You've had it so rarely because of me.” Zelda said. “And then the twins were born. I couldn't, I wouldn't do anything to hurt you or your family. Malon was good to me too. She became my best friend even before I knew she was my sister in that life. I didn't want to hurt her either. It became so complicated.”

 

“You could have taken a husband.” He said. “Why didn't you?”

 

“Maybe it was for the same reason we could never be together then. I never really had the time for another relationship. I became married to Hyrule, and that was demanding enough.” She said. “But that was a different time, a different government. I don't have all of the same responsibilities now, and father has made clear to us his approval if that is our choice.” She said with hope in her voice.

 

“Is it our choice?” He asked.

 

“It is mine.” She responded, moving closer to press her lips to his again. They remained that way for some time, savoring the feeling and emotion of their lips' embrace. As they slowly drew away again, he asked playfully, “Is it okay for a high school farm kid to ask for the hand of the crown princess in marriage?”

 

“If you don't mind putting up with a spoiled princess for a wife.” She replied, teasing.

 

“I didn't the first time back on Atlantis, but now I'll have to check with Epona. She'll have to have the final say.” He joked.

 

“Hey!” Zelda semi-playfully slapped his shoulder.

 

“Okay, so maybe she won't have the _final_ say...” He conceded.

 

“Well, we'll just have to ask her when she arrives at the stables this evening.” Zelda said. “Perhaps we can introduce her to my Starfire. He could use some companionship too.”

 

“I think they'll probably get along just fine.” Link told her. His face then grew dark and pensive.

 

“What's wrong?” She asked.

 

“There's just so much going on right now. It almost doesn't seem right to be talking or thinking like this right now. We came back for a reason.” He said.

 

“All the more reason to take these moments while we can.” Zelda reassured him.

 

“Always my wise princess.” He told her, looking into her eyes.

 

“Always my brave soldier.” She responded, returning his gaze, love and affection filling her own blue eyes.

 

“Uh...hmmm,” Someone nearby cleared there throat and the two separated and looked around to finally spot _general_ John Shepherd. “I'm sorry to interrupt,” he said, and he did genuinely seem to be sorry. “but I just wanted to let you know that the Guard and R.F.P. teams have reported in, and your foster family is safe and secure for the moment. A little bewildered at all the attention, but safe nonetheless.”

 

“Thanks, John.” Link said, using Shepherd's first name.

 

“You're welcome.” He said in return. “That's the first time you've called me 'John' in a long time. You got your whole memory back I take it?”

 

“Yeah, we both did. Everything's back.” Link said.

 

“Everything? As in everything everything, or just sort of everything?” Shepherd asked.

 

“I remember those fishing trips we would take, and the log I caught. I also remember you laughing so hard you fell out of the boat. You failed to mention that when you told it.” Link said to him.

 

“Yes, well I was testing you.” Shepherd recovered as Zelda chose not to repress a giggle.

 

“I also remember my childhood, my first childhood, in Atlantis, the city in D'ni, and the Atlantean colony here, and our marriage.” He said, looking at Zelda. “She was my wife. She was the reason why I came to the colony. I was a soldier, a specialist in martial arts and hand weapons similar to your friend Ronan, part of the platoon sent to protect the scientists. It made sense for me to come because my mother and wife were among the researchers.”

 

All of that was new information to Shepherd who had just realized he didn't know his friend as well as he thought he had, and his face showed it. “Wow. That was what, Ten..?”

 

“Ten thousand years ago, just before the wraith wars.” Link finished for him. “Too long ago.”

 

“It must be tough, having to grow up and be a teenager all over again.” Shepherd said, not knowing what else to say. This conversation had taken a strange turn for him, and gone in a way he hadn't expected.

 

“It has its advantages.” Zelda offered. “We weren't nearly this young when we first came here.”

 

“Well, I just learned something new about you two today that I didn't know before.” Shepherd replied. “Now that you have all of your memories back, you don't happen to remember anything about this Ansem Xehanort guy, do you?”

 

Zelda nodded. “He's one of us.” She said, and then quickly clarified, “not one of us, not from Hyrule's Others, but he's ascended, at least partly.”

 

“How does that work?” Shepherd asked, confused.

 

“It's complicated. Instead of taking a mortal form and losing part of his powers, he infests a mortal 'host' like a parasite. I don't think he can keep his existence intact without one. We could feel that his energy is very powerful and very dark. We saw him enter our reality using a _lamna clavia_ doorway. We don't know where he's from, or what he wants, but with an energy that dark, there was no chance we could take that he wouldn't disrupt the delicate balance within this world. It is only our great fortune that he hasn't made any movements until now.” Zelda tried to explain. “We couldn't take the chance of another Demon King being created.”

 

“Well, I understand not wanting that to happen.” Shepherd said, “Doctor Lee has some theories on what his background is and where he came from. As to why he's here, we think it might be because Maleficent was hunting him down trying to kill him. It sounds like she might have gotten pretty close to finishing him off too. We think he came here to hide from her on top of whatever other evil plan he might have had, but now that she's gone...”

 

“Now that she's gone, he's free to carry out that evil plan almost unchallenged.” Link said. “The only thing keeping him restrained was the dark fairy finding him.”

 

“Well, now it's our turn to step up to the plate. Rodney's still got the sangraal jewel. We need to find a way to deliver it and activate it without blowing up poor Fi like we did last time.” Shepherd told them, crossing his arms. “Any thoughts on that subject?”

 

“No, not yet.” Zelda said. “We don't even know what he really wants. Demise was relatively easy to bait.”

 

“Speak for yourself, princess.” Link quipped.

 

“You know what I mean.” She returned. “We could use his hatred for Link and I, and his arrogance to trap him. Xehanort doesn't have the same history, and he's been patient for eighteen years. We need more information.”

 

“Bill's working on getting it for us.” Shepherd said. “He's brought... uh... journals with him that might shed some light on it, but it's going to take some time for him to go through them. There's a lot of information involved.”

 

“Maybe we can help make the connections he needs.” Zelda offered.

 

“I'm not so certain that's a good idea, there are some things about the relationship of your reality to ours that I'm not sure you really want to know. Certain things we haven't quite shared.” Shepherd said, not sure how they would take the information that they were the main characters in a series of video games back home.

 

“I know more about this reality than you think I do, general.” Zelda said, a knowing look in her eye. “I was one of the scientists researching it, remember? I know how it affects the other realities connected to it, and how others may be informed by it.”

 

“Oh you do?” Shepherd said, never ceasing to be amazed by the young blond lady. “Okay, well then try this one. You know what video games are right?” He asked, hoping they weren't going to be too freaked out by the truth.

 

“Let me guess,” Zelda offered, “Someone in your world is writing the stories of this one as a series of stories and characters for video games.”

 

“Uh, yeah, actually, how did you...?” He was completely taken aback. He looked at Link who looked at Zelda in confusion, but not really with surprise. “Video games? Seriously?” Link asked her.

 

“It would be absurdly complicated for me to try and explain for you. No offense meant, general.” Zelda said.

 

“Well, none taken then.” He said, a little offended.

 

“It was something we predicted would happen. Do you remember the explanation of how the descriptive and linking books create links to any reality at any point in time or space that is possible which they might describe?” Zelda asked.

 

Shepherd's head wavered back and forth between a nod and a shake before he replied, “Sort of.”

 

“Okay,” she tried to explain patiently, “Well, it is a similar but inverse relationship. This point in time and space, this reality is writing the results of each choice, each belief, each idea formed within it within the minds and imaginations of people in other realities. It's a kind of nexus of reality and belief, where the quantum states of matter, where an electron might be and where it actually is, are far more dynamic and a thousand times more sensitive to the energies of a sentient, intelligent, self-aware mind capable of achieving ascension. A mind like yours, or mine, General.”

 

“But I'm not evolved enough to ascend, not like you.” Shepherd protested.

 

“But you can ascend with help, and your species will eventually evolve to where you won't need help any longer.” She insisted.

 

“So you're saying yours and mine, and every person in Hyrule's thoughts are somehow shaping this world, and in turn this world is shaping the thoughts and imagination of people in my world?” Shepherd tried to understand. It was mind blowing, and his mind felt like a C-4 charge had just been detonated.

 

“In small ways, yes. Taken by themselves, they're small and barely noticeable, but taken together on a grand scale with so many people... It can completely unbalance this world and throw it into chaos.” Zelda explained.

 

“So what's keeping it relatively stable?” He asked.

 

“We are. Well, the Others are right now. The ascended in this reality continue to make corrections and changes, constantly trying to keep the 'errors' if you will to a minimum.” Zelda said with a certain inexplicable sadness.

 

“So this guy Xehanort, he could really screw things up then, and not just for Hyrule, couldn't he?” Shepherd reasoned out, trying to imagine the consequences in his world. Too many imaginations there were already dark enough.

 

“That is the reason why we chose rebirth.” Link answered.

 

* * *

 

Doctor Lee was sitting at an expensive looking wooden desk, pouring over the game information database on the tablet computer he had brought with him from Atlantis. Daniel and Rodney were attempting to help him by scanning the same information on the tablets they had brought with themselves, but they just didn't have the natural interest in the subject that he did. Rodney had found a way to rig a power converter in order to charge their portable field computers with the Palace's electrical connections. They were working in the spacious palace apartment which had been granted to them for their use until a proper workspace could be set up.

 

“I can't believe you put together all this stuff in two days. It must have taken weeks to compile all this useless information.” Rodney told him.

 

“Hey, well it's not useless right now, now is it?” Bill said in his own defense. “I'm just glad I had the foresight to include the wiki information on the _Kingdom Hearts_ series. I mean what would have happened if we were dealing with bad guys like the Metroids, or like Mannaroth or Archimonde from World of Warcraft. We'd be up a creek if I didn't have all this, now wouldn't we?”

 

“Yes, Bill,” Daniel chimed in, crossing his arms not believing what he was about to say, “For once in your life, your video game experience actually has the chance of saving the day.”

 

“Hey, I didn't do too bad with Maleficent did I? Sheesh, you guys never appreciate me, even when I'm right.” He said, his feelings slightly wounded. “Give a guy his due will you?”

 

“No, no you didn't.” He conceded. “Now we need you to do something similar with this other, worse video game bad guy.” Daniel returned.

 

“Right.” Bill said, going back to his research. “Now I'm just sorry I didn't get more into the series. It just didn't hold as much interest for me, being more targeted towards younger kids. I could have been more useful more quickly.”

 

“The whole thing is confusing as hell.” Rodney said, trying to understand the material. “I mean, who comes up with this stuff?”

 

“I don't know, the stories and places of the _Kingdom Hearts_ series read a lot like metaphors for some larger truth, almost like some ancient religious texts or poetry I've studied. The chi-blade being forged from the conflict between the light and darkness in a kid's heart, for example, or the 'Lingering Will' as a character which ultimately drives out the evil from his own soul.” Daniel explained. “There's definitely some larger truth behind it, the question is what?”

 

“And what pray tell, professor, is Mickey Mouse a metaphor for?” Rodney snorted in derision. “The whole thing is ridiculous.”

 

“I don't know, the ultimate triumph of innocence and goodness over darkness, maybe?” Daniel suggested. “Ridiculous or not, Rodney, it's here and it's real enough to pose a threat to this world and ours.”

 

“I don't get paid enough for this.” Rodney said under his breath, going back to scrolling through his tablet.

 

“Please, let's not start that argument again.” Daniel said in exasperation.

 

“Okay, but if Mickey Mouse shows up on our doorstep, I quit. You guys can deal with this one without me. My tolerance for the absurd only goes so far.” Rodney replied vehemently.

 

“Well, this guy Xehanort is a real piece of work.” Bill said, his eyes on the tablet screen in front of him. “I don't know how we're even going to get close enough to use the sangraal jewel on him and his host if he's anything in reality like he is in the game stories. I mean, he's as bad or worse than Ganondorf.”

 

“Okay, pretend I don't know who Ganondorf is.” Daniel said. “And that I've never played any of these games.”

 

“Oh, right. Ganondorf was a Gerudo king who took hold of the Triforce of Power and tried to take over Hyrule in most of the _Legend of Zelda_ games.” Bill explained. “He was this powerful evil sorcerer.”

 

“Yeah, in reality he was one of Demise's mortal hosts.” Rodney added. “Hyrule history one-oh-one. He was the reason why Link and Zelda had to keep coming back for thousands of years. It was the fight to keep him imprisoned in the Sacred Realm and to keep him defeated which kept Hyrule in the dark ages for all that time. Really bad guy. Think Anubis bad.”

 

“And you're saying Xehanort could be worse?” Daniel asked. “Worse how?”

 

“Worse as in more powerful worse, and worse as in he might understand the nature of this world's reality a lot better than we do worse.” Bill said. “But in all the games his one goal seems to be gaining access to the world called the true 'Kingdom Hearts' with the intention of spreading darkness throughout all worlds in order to counter what he calls the 'tyranny of light.'” Bill then set his tablet down and looked at his companions, rubbing his eyes and looking like he was trying to put the pieces of a jumbled puzzle together, “You know I've been thinking, and what this game calls Kingdom Hearts sounds an awful lot like the Triforce and the Sacred Realm here in Hyrule. Even the way to get into it. The Kingdom Hearts was protected by a kind of master keyblade called the 'chi-blade.'”

 

“That sounds a lot like the Master Sword, doesn't it?” Rodney said, seeing the logic of Bill's train of thought.

 

“Right!” Bill agreed. “But the only thing about it is, the story in the games goes that the original Kingdom Hearts and chi-blade were destroyed in the first keyblade war.”

 

“So how could the Sacred Realm and the Master Sword be connected to it in any way?” Daniel asked. He then started trying to reason it out. “Okay, well if the Kingdom Hearts stories are poetic metaphors, then maybe the destruction of the true Kingdom Hearts and the chi-blade is a metaphor too. Maybe it wasn't their literal destruction. Maybe it was the destruction of the knowledge of them, or the way back to them from their own world or reality.”

 

“Yeah, maybe. And this guy Xehanort, who's obviously obsessed with finding it, finally found a gateway here to the Sacred Realm's doorstep, but he didn't know precisely where in this world the entry point was.” Rodney picked up on it.

 

“The Temple of Time.” Bill said. “So that's got to be his objective then, doesn't it? Once he figures out where it is and how to gain access, he'll make his move, won't he?”

 

“Considering he just declared war on Western Hyrule, I think he's narrowed it down now.” Daniel observed.

 

“Right.” Bill said. “Right.”

 

* * *

 

The short lone figure stepped off the train and onto the platform of Castleton's main transit station. He wore a black cloak with the hood drawn to hide his features from the surrounding fellow travelers. As he looked around at all the different kinds of people, he wondered if he really needed the secrecy, but the enchanted black cloak was necessary to keep unfriendly eyes, both physical and magical, from finding him before he was ready to be found.

 

None of the people around him noticed him either as he walked with purpose along the platform. His spell of concealment hiding him from all but the most observant of magic users, and then, only if they knew to look for him.

 

The train station was very modern and different from the train stations which were in the dark figure's own world as he strode calmly and cautiously through the crowd. Digital screens displayed train times and numbers over ticket counters enclosed in glass and staffed by the sharp eared, elf like people that seemed to predominate in this world.

 

He bypassed all of them to head out of the station and into the larger metropolis that was the capital of this country. It was a larger city than he had ever traveled to before. “My goodness.” He exclaimed in a high pitched, almost adolescent voice. For a minute he almost began to despair of ever finding what he was seeking in the complex, organized chaos that was downtown Castleton.

 

But then he felt it. The thin calling of light that had drawn him here to this place. His search for the evil man that had brought him to this world would begin at the source of it.

 

He had wrestled with the question for years. Could Master Xehanort have actually survived their final battle with him? None of his friends seemed to believe so, and for his own reasons, he kept his suspicions from them. But there was this feeling that kept nagging at him, that still nagged at him as he walked along the cement sidewalk towards the heart of the city, the walls of Old Castle Town. It was a memory of his time studying in the library of Ansem the Wise, a library he knew Xehanort had also had access to. There was one book in particular that described a world in metaphor and rhyme. Now, the small figure knew that it spoke of this world that he now walked through. It was a world which had long remained disconnected and forgotten by the rest of his people in the other realms, but not completely impossible to reach. Could Xehanort have somehow fled here?

 

Xehanort. The man was responsible for hurting his friends in cruel and dark ways. If he had his way, he would bring the whole of his reality into darkness. He was also responsible for Pete's murder in cold blood. The stranger felt heartbroken upon hearing Maleficent's cries of outrage and pain when she found the oversized cat's body. He had known Pete too in another lifetime. He wouldn't have ever really considered him a friend, but he had known him and worked with him. He deserved better than what he got. It made the stranger angry, and want justice for his former acquaintance. He had to know for certain that the evil sorcerer was finally gone or not.

 

His suspicions were all the more confirmed when he learned of Maleficent's departure, and when he tracked where she went through the gateways. He had followed her alone this time. He wouldn't involve his friends with this. They had too much in the way of bad feelings towards the dark fairy, and she and he had a common enemy to fight this time. An agent of light and an agent of darkness to combat the destructive imbalance Xehanort would bring on them all. He just had to make contact with her. Then he arrived in this world and felt the power of the light with which it filled him. It was invigorating, like waking up from a dream into the reality, and he just knew this was where Xehanort had come. It had to be, he could feel the power of Kingdom Hearts flowing through it everywhere here.

 

Eventually his destination came within sight. It looked like a great cathedral with stained glass windows just outside of the old town walls. He had heard the locals refer to it as the “Temple of Light.” His search would begin there. He pushed back one of the long black sleeves to reveal a white glove and a wristwatch on a thin arm with short black fur. It was close to three in the afternoon.

 

* * *

 

“We're going to need access to the Temple of Light, your majesty.” Shepherd told the monarch once he arrived and had been announced. He had just come from one of the weirdest conversations he had ever had with a man he thought he had known fairly well. Shows how much I know about anyone, Shepherd thought to himself.

 

They were in a private study of the king's which overlooked the garden. His majesty had been watching the two teenagers next to a set of royal purple silk curtains through the expansive window which opened up onto the castle gardens. A short glass with a small amount of orange brown liquor and ice cubes was in his hand from which he sipped gingerly.

 

“Do you drink, General?” The king asked him in a friendly and familiar manner.

 

“On occasion, sir, when I'm off duty.” Shepherd responded.

 

“ _Sir_.” The king repeated. “I'll have to get used to that. I haven't had someone call me 'sir' in a long time. It's always 'your majesty this' and 'your majesty that.'”

 

“I apologize, your majesty.” Shepherd corrected himself.

 

“Oh don't.” The king replied. “I kind of like it. It's so much more efficient and less pretentious. That's one thing I have never been able to stand is pretense, and yet in my position I must use it constantly to get anything done that needs to. Do you follow my meaning, General?”

 

“I'm not sure, sir.” Shepherd responded honestly.

 

The king watched his daughter and her Hero unseen by either of them, sipping his drink. “Would you like some, General?” He offered, gesturing to a crystal flask filled with the liquid and an extra glass in the setting. “It's a sweet pumpkin liquor from Ordon. It's been aged very well, and I hate to drink it without sharing it with someone.”

 

Not wanting to offend the man, Shepherd took his offer and, walking over to the table poured himself a small amount, taking a sip. The liquor was sweet, similar to a good pumpkin pie he once had, but it burned like mad going down. “It's good.” Shepherd told him. “Better than some I've had.”

 

“I'm glad someone else appreciates it here besides me. I import it from a micro-distillery in Ordon that makes this batch special just for myself. No one else here seems to be able to enjoy a fine _Ordonian_ liquor quite like myself. And that should tell you something, General. I understand there's a guard captain in Lake Hylia who wouldn't enjoy it much either.” The king said with a knowing look.

 

“No, I don't think he would, sir.” Shepherd said.

 

“This is where the real fight is, General. It isn't a fight of swords, shields, bullets, or even fists. It's a fight of ideas. And the idea that someone Hylians are better than everyone else is like a cancer that is eating away at our society. It's already consumed the eastern half of our realm, and still it spreads. I have to use every weapon at my disposal to fight it, no matter how much I may not want to. Like those two down there,” he motioned with his glass towards Zelda and Link down below, “keeping the people of Hyrule safe, all of her people, from all threats is my responsibility, and I take it very seriously. I refuse to leave anyone, any one of us be it Hylian, Zora, Ordonian, Goron, fairy, or even the odd educated Bulblin, and there are a few here and there; I refuse to leave any of my people behind. You can understand that, can't you General?”

 

“Absolutely, sir.” Shepherd said, coming to like this man very quickly.

 

“I look at my daughter down there, and to see the joy and love in her eyes when she looks at that young man brings nothing but happiness to my heart. She's taken so little time for herself, you know. She's never seriously considered anything for herself, but from the time she was little has been working to make our kingdom better for everyone. If I could have shielded both of them from the press, if I could let them both just be young people in love like they should be able to be then nothing would please me more.” The king took another sip of his drink, his eyes still on the gardens.

 

“But you can't, can you, sir?” Shepherd asked, picking up on what was bothering the man. It was the media this morning. It was having to order protection for the farming family and disrupting their lives. It was having to splash Link's face all over the airwaves even while seeing how uncomfortable the young man was.

 

“No. No I cannot.” The king took a deep breath and sighed. “That's not how the game is played. How it has to be played whether I like it or not.” He then turned away from the window and turned to face Shepherd. “Do you know what I now see when I look at those two, General?”

 

“A couple of teenagers that aren't?” Shepherd offered.

 

The king smirked, “You noticed that too, have you? I look at Link and I see an extraordinary young man who risked everything to save my daughter. I also see my ancestor from centuries ago and possibly farther back than that. I don't know for certain. And, I also see the Hero who inspired me as a boy, and to whom I have offered prayers for the courage to do what is right all of my life.” He took another sip. “It is the same when I look at Zelda ever since she returned from the desert. I still see my little daughter whom I have loved and cared for since her mother died giving birth to her. She is the joy of my heart and always will be. But I now also see the ancestral matriarch of the royal family evident in her every step, and her every word and gesture. And,” he took another sip and finished the glass, “I can't fail to see my goddess, Hylia, and eternity in her deep blue eyes. My goddess come back to us from heaven and reborn in flesh. How did I not see that before I ask you?”

 

“It must be weird for you too, then, sir.” Shepherd empathized.

 

“You have no idea.” The king replied. “I consider myself a devout man, General. I must be because it is my position as king to defend our faith, and keep the remembrance of the Legend of Zelda in the people's minds and hearts. And now I find myself in the position of having to use these young people to as weapons in a war of propaganda, a war of ideas, to convince the people that our way, the way of equality and the freedom to choose one's own path is the way the goddesses would have us go. And I find myself hating the... the _blasphemy_ of it.” He spat the word. “I meant what I said to Link. It is I who should be bowing to them, and not they to me. I only hope to find forgiveness from them after it is all over.”

 

“I'm sure they will understand the necessity, sir.” Shepherd said, trying to console him. He knew he was way out of his depth here in the conflict the man was feeling.

 

“Any amount of happiness I can give them before this is all over with, I will. I swear it to you, General. I will owe them that much and more by the time this is done.” The king said.

 

“Of course, sir.” Shepherd said.

 

“Now, to the business at hand.” The king said. “You wanted access to the Temple of Light?”

 

“Yes, sir,” Shepherd responded, remembering why they had come. “We need to find out why the Sages haven't responded to anyone, including Talon in the Temple of Time. You and Zelda are the only ones besides the Sages themselves who can enter the Temples without, uh, 'special invitation.' The closest one to investigate is the Temple of Light here in Castle Town, er, Castleton. The reasoning is that what's affecting the Sage here, might be the same thing that's affecting the Sages elsewhere. It'll just be Link and I going in as long as you give permission for Zelda to unseal and open the doors. We'll have a couple of units of guardsmen on the premises to try and prevent any other unauthorized entry.”

 

“As long as it's discreet. I don't want to cause any commotion among the population with Hyrule Guardsmen locking down a Sacred Temple in such a public venue. Imagine the news broadcasts with that.” The king said. “A war of ideas, General. That's what we're fighting.”

 

“We'll keep the cameras outside of the temple compound walls, sir.” Shepherd said, though he was grateful for the reminder. This wasn't like the Hyrule he had known. There were more factors to consider now. “We'll be in and out as quickly as we can. We're just going in to check on the Sage of Light.”

 

“Permission granted, but wait until after dark when most of the people will be off the streets. The fewer eyes on the ground the better.” The king said.

 

“Understood, sir.” Shepherd said, setting his half finished glass of liquor on the table. “I'll go and set everything up. We should be ready to go in at nine o'clock.”

 

“Midnight, General. Castleton doesn't sleep that early during the week, especially not that close to the Old Town.” The King corrected, knowing his city better than the stranger from the past.

 

“Midnight it is, sir.” Shepherd confirmed, as he began to leave.

 

“Oh, and General?” The king addressed him one more time. Shepherd turned to look at him. “Keep my daughter and my future son-in-law as safe as you can for me. For all of us. I don't know what we'd do if anything happened to them.”

 

“You have my word, sir.” Shepherd told him solemnly, and then walked out.


	36. Chapter 36

Chapter 36

 

The advertisement started running on the television in the early evening. Russel and his family were eating dinner in the dining room within sight of the television, still turned to the news channel. It was a series of quotable moments from the king's and Princess Zelda's speeches over the last year, and showing the evils which the eastern republic's apartheid policies had brought to the people of that nation. It always ended with that one shot of the king, with Zelda at his right hand and Link at his left, their faces eventually framed in a Triforce outline and exclaiming “The divine favors the righteous cause!”

 

Russel, Tara, and Colin didn't say much as they ate the fried cucco that Tara had prepared. She had offered for Dali to stay for dinner, but he declined and his men were recalled to their barracks shortly after the Royal Family Protection Service men arrived on their property in black dress suits, badges, and military grade assault rifles. Russel and Tara had come up with the list of their friends and family, almost a quarter of Ordonville it seemed by the time they were done, and given it to Dali who dutifully turned it over to the R.F.P. lead officer, a stranger to them.

 

Since the security men arrived, about twenty or thirty of them, they spread out around the house and barn and down the driveway. There was at least one man at every entrance to their house and one posted upstairs. Even their horses got their own security detail as men took up station at both the front and back doors of the barn.

 

The men weren't unfriendly, and Russel and his family weren't unfriendly to them, but they were strangers, crisply professional, and they took their job very seriously; and that was making the family more uncomfortable than anything else. Poor Elsie Finniel had tried to come by to find out if that was really Link on the T.V. and she found herself undergoing a pat down as her name was checked on the list. The poor sixteen year old girl was in tears from the embarrassment of the thorough R.F.P. body search by the time she was able to make it to the front door, and Tara had her sit with her in the kitchen trying to calm her down with a cup of warm, sweetened milk while she tried to start their supper. Russel was so angry at their treatment of the girl he wanted to throw them off his property, but then he got another good look at the news vehicles and reporters lined up along the road trying to get onto his property to score an exclusive interview, and the security personnel warning them off. He didn't like it, but perhaps it was better than the alternative.

 

The advertisement was almost the last straw for him. He hadn't asked for any of this when he let Link go, and now he began to regret it bitterly. If Link knew what was happening here, Russel thought, surely he wouldn't go along with it. If he knew how they treated poor Elsie, and who knows who else they didn't let through... Well, Link was a better man than that.

 

Elsie went home not long before they sat down to eat, not sure of what they could or should talk about in front of their “protection.” The cucco was tasty, and the greens Tara cooked up with it weren't as fresh as if they were from their own garden, it wasn't the right season for that yet, but they weren't bad either. There was a store bought pumpkin pie and leftover birthday cake from the past Sunday for desert, but none of them really felt like eating the cake. Without Link there, it just didn't seem right.

 

Then the television changed again, and another local news announcement came on the air. “This just in, the Royal Hyrule Military Guard is ordering all Guardsmen on leave to return to their assigned barracks. All reserve Guardsmen are being ordered to report to their nearest R.H.M.G. command post for active duty. All former and retired Guardsmen are being requested by the R.H.M.G. supreme command to report to their nearest command post for active duty. No explanation as of yet is being given except for the declaration of war by the eastern republic as of yesterday.”

 

Russel stared at the television screen pensively. “It must be serious if they're asking all the veterans to come back.” He said. “They must be expecting something big.”

 

“What could they be expecting, Dad?” Colin asked.

 

“Well, the only thing I could think of that would need all of us retired guardsmen would be if they were expecting an invasion.” Russel said. “I wonder if Link gave that order, or if someone below him did.”

 

Tara looked at her husband, and the look on his face. “Russel, what are you thinking?” She asked, a serious tone to her voice, as though she was afraid of the answer.

 

“They're calling all of us up.” Russel said. Tara couldn't fail to notice that he was using the word “us.”

 

“Russel, it's been years, and your leg never healed right. You've already done your duty to Hyrule.” Tara told him, a pleading creeping into her voice.

 

Russel took a deep breath and sighed, and then said, “If Link really is the Hero, then he's already done his duty to Hyrule too. And yet he came back when Hyrule needed him, no matter how much he's already given, and if the legends are to be believed, it's more than anyone could have asked of him. Can I do any different? Do I have the right or the excuse if Hyrule needs me again too?”

 

“We need you right here! Dammit Russel, don't be stubborn about this! Do you think these men will even let you go?” Tears came to Tara's eyes. “I don't want anything to happen to you, you stubborn fool!”

 

Russel got up from the table, standing up straight. “And if I stay here, and don't go when I'm called, what kind of a man would I be? What kind of an example would I be for our son?” He said gesturing to Colin. “If I want my son to be a man of wisdom, power, and especially courage than I have to be that man first. I always came back before, and I'm going to come back now. Besides, I doubt they'd put an old codger like me on the front lines. They'll probably have me guarding some out of the way supply station or something. I'll be fine, Tara, and these gentlemen here will make sure nothing happens to any of you. That's why they're here.”

 

“You come back to me, old man.” Tara told him, conceding and seeing that there was no way she could talk him out of it, moving around the table and throwing her arms around him. “You come back to me in one piece, or I'll kill you myself.” She said.

 

“Yes, ma'am.” He replied as he returned her embrace. Then Colin got up and joined their embrace. “I love you, Dad.” He said with a mixture of fear for the future, and pride in his father.

 

“I love you too, son.” Russel said, holding his family tight.

 

* * *

 

“They're going to invade.” General Shepherd told the military staff who had been placed under his authority. The day had been extremely busy for him, and it wouldn't end until early the next morning for him if he was luck. He had spent the last couple of hours after his conversation with King Daphnes in the palace war room, the military command center for the entire R.H.M.G., being brought up to speed on Hyrule's current military capabilities, available manpower, mobile armor, naval assault craft, and air forces, as well as the ability to repel the same. Really, this should have been Link standing here preparing his nation for war, but Shepherd didn't want to take him away from Zelda so soon. He's going to need to deal with a larger threat than an enemy invasion, Shepherd reasoned. He smirked at the thought, because for anyone else that would have been an arrogantly foolish idea, but not for Link. Nope, the invading army was left to the ordinary mortals to deal with.

 

The total population of the United Kingdom of Hyrule was only somewhere in the neighborhood of twenty million with an active R.H.M.G. force of about sixty thousand spread between the provinces performing both military and law enforcement duties. It was kind of like the Royal Canadian Mounted Police except with a distinctly military function to it, especially during wartime. There were another ten to twenty thousand reservists, and between forty to fifty thousand retired veterans. Shepherd had given the order to call all of them back to active duty. The reservists had no choice, but he hoped the veterans here in Hyrule were just as patriotic about their duty as the good men he knew back home. He couldn't force them to come, but he did order that they be requested to return to uniform in preparation for an attack. Intelligence on the eastern republic's military capability was sketchy at best, and Shepherd had this bad feeling that whatever they were planning was going to happen soon.

 

“If it was me, I'd be using air transports to drop men and armor into Hyrule Field once they clear the coastal mountains and then push towards Castleton. That would be the quickest route if they intend conquest. Do we have anti-aircraft on the mountains?” He asked.

 

“We have a few batteries sir, artillery and missile launchers stationed here, here, and here.” Another General pointed out three separate locations along the mountain range which ran north from the Parapa desert all the way to the south near Midoton. “We've discussed placing more, but the palace's policy has been to try and keep the peace with the east. It was thought that more militarization would run against that goal.”

 

“Some people just can't be negotiated with.” Shepherd said. “My people learned that the hard way, again and again.”

 

“Yes, sir.” The General said in agreement.

 

“Okay,” Shepherd started trying to think through what the three scientists who were his friends and companions had told him about their enemy. Where would he go? What would be his objective? “What about the Temples. I've got it on good authority the east's president may take a particular interest in the Sages' Temples. What kind of defenses are stationed there?”

 

“Two of the Temples are in ruins in the East. We don't have any information on their condition. Of the remaining six, the Temple of Spirit is nearly impossible to access through the western desert. No one goes in or out except the Sage, and she hasn't been seen in almost two decades. We'd lose men just trying to protect it. The Temple of Shadow is buried deep inside the cliffs outside of Old Kakariko Village, and to be honest, only her royal highness actually knows where to find it. Locating the Temple of Forest is almost as difficult through the Lost Woods of the Kokiri Forest. The Temple of Fire sits in a volcano surrounded by molten rock. No need to explain why we're not guarding the entrance. It's suicide for us to try and enter. The Temple of Water is at the bottom of Lake Hylia and remains under twenty-four hour Guard by Zora Extraordinary Forces. The Temple of Light, just outside the walls of Old Town has a regular R.H.M.G. patrol posted, but we generally allow tourists and the devout access to the outside grounds, just not into the building itself. That leaves the Temple of Time the outside of which, as you have experienced, is under heavy guard by our men as well. None of the Temples are accessible by anyone without the express permission of the Sages except for the members of the royal family. The truth is, if any of the Temples are this man's target, for whatever reason, then I would say let him try. We'll be rid of him that much sooner, sir.” The General responded.

 

“Maybe, but I'd like to hedge my bets. Let's station more men here at the Sacred Grove command post. See how many of the veterans respond to the recall from the surrounding towns and have them reinforce the Guard command post there, that'll free up our active duty for the main fight in the Field. Have the rest of our armor and ground forces waiting to the east of Castleton. I want assault gyrocopter patrols in flights of five across the Field, and I want eyes on radar at all times. Have the navy blockade the ports around Mido as well.” Shepherd said. “All eyes to the east.”

 

“How do you know it will be the eastern Hyrule Field, sir? Why not invade through the northern desert using naval transports?” Another officer asked.

 

“Unless the tides have changed in two hundred years, the seas will be too rough to make the landing, and if they do manage to get troops on the shore, then they have to march them through the desert and still come at us through the field. No, this is what I would do.” He said.

 

* * *

 

The old gray cavalry uniform still fits, Russel thought. He hadn't worn it in some number of years, and then only for a reunion with his old unit at a gathering in Ordonville. He strapped the scabbard of his old sword to his back in uniform fashion to finish the ensemble. He should have been carrying his shield as well, but he had given that to Link before he left. He would have to see if the barracks had a spare, or just go without. Most likely he would be carrying a rifle anyway, but a properly enchanted shield could save your life against gunfire, though not the life of your mount. His padded metal helmet lay at the bottom of his old chest. There were still a few dings in it from times when he shouldn't have come back alive but did anyway. He picked up his old helmet with the visor, and went back downstairs, retrieving his old service rifle and revolver from their mountings on the wall as he went.

 

He hugged his family goodbye one last time, and then walked past the confused security men without saying a word heading for his stable where the horse that had been with him against more wild trolls and octoroks than he cared to count waited. He pulled his tack out and began to saddle his mount.

 

“Sir, I need to know where you intend to go.” Came the annoying voice of the lead R.F.P. officer.

 

“Didn't you hear the news, son?” Russel asked him as he buckled the saddle into place. “I've been requested to return to duty.”

 

“Sir, you've been requested, but not ordered.” The officer pointed out tactfully.

 

“Do you just sit on your ass, son, when your king requests you to do something?” Russel asked, enjoying the look on the officer's face at the question.

 

“Sir, please remove the saddle from the animal. As your security lead, I cannot allow you to...” He never got the chance to finish his sentence.

 

“Let me put it to you this way, son.” Russel interrupted him. “You're technically R.H.M.G. yourself, right?”

 

“Yes, sir, I am.” The man answered with some pride in his voice.

 

“And what rank do you hold in the Guard?” Russel then asked him.

 

“Lieutenant, sir.” He asked, not sure where he was going with it.

 

“Mmm-hm. Now, have a look at my collar. What rank does it say I have?” Russel asked him.

 

“Lieutenant Captain, sir.” The man said, beginning to sense defeat.

 

“So, _lieutenant_ , I have just been recalled to active duty, therefore I outrank you. So, please understand I mean this with the utmost respect when I say, like hell I have to do anything with this saddle other than report for duty. Do I make myself clear, _lieutenant_?” Russel told him.

 

“Yes, sir.” The poor man replied.

 

“Good. Now, if you will be so kind as to carry out my orders and take good care of my family. And if I hear about any more of your men feeling up any of my nephew's friends, or anyone from town again just so they can talk to us, you can be sure the palace will know about it. If I know Link, he won't be too pleased to hear how poor Elsie was treated.” Russel said.

 

The man stiffened. “Understood, sir. Your family and friends will be safe with us. I promise.”

 

Russel then came around to the horse's left, checked his saddlebags one more time, and hoisted himself up into the saddle. “Glad to hear it, lieutenant.” Then addressing his mount, “Ready for one last adventure, Xavier?” The horse snorted and pawed the ground in response. “Yeah, me too. Well, let's do it anyway.”

 

The R.F.P.S. Officer stepped out of Russel's way, and, standing at attention, saluted him saying, “Good hunting, sir.”

 

Russel nodded crisply in response, donning his helmet. And then he trotted Xavier out and across his property and down the road. He rode past the news vehicles and reporters who hadn't yet been informed of the recall to duty, and so didn't know the uniformed cavalryman riding off into the night was the very man with whom they sought an interview.

 

* * *

 

Link was in the royal stables that night with Zelda settling Epona into her new home. He had just received his personal effects, his sword and clothes which he left behind at the Sacred Grove days before, and his nine year old mare who had been his first and only mount since he had come to live with his foster family. The white haired, brown bodied horse wouldn't allow anyone else to ride her.

 

“See, it's not so bad girl. I was promised you'll get all the oats you want.” He said, trying to calm her down in the somewhat intimidating new surroundings. He had felt a little intimidated himself, and he could remember the palace being his home in many, many of his previous lifetimes.

 

“She looks so much like the others. It's no surprise you two were drawn to each other.” Zelda observed, her hand on the mare's nose, stroking her head.

 

“She likes you. That's a good sign. She doesn't usually like too many girls.” Link told her. “She tends to get a little protective of me.”

 

“Well, that's something we might share in common then, won't we Epona?” Zelda told the horse. Epona nodded as though she understood.

 

“I thought I might find you here.” Shepherd's voice carried to them from outside the stall. “I heard that Epona's horse hauler had arrived. How'd she take the trip?” He asked.

 

“Pretty well, although I think it'll be her last one for a while not under her own power.” Link responded. “I'll try and run her tomorrow a bit.”

 

“Yeah. Uh, I spoke to your father, Zelda, about the Temple of Light, he wants us to wait until midnight before we enter. Is that okay with you?” Shepherd asked.

 

“Yes, of course. Who will be entering with you?” She said, her face and voice shifting from the playfulness of a few seconds before to something more solemn and formal.

 

“Just Link and I. No one else. Just a quick check on the Sage of Light. He should be aware of our presence the second we set foot in the Temple, right?” Shepherd asked.

 

“That is correct.” Zelda responded.

 

“Good, so hopefully this will go quickly. If he doesn't show up within a minute, Link and I will conduct a search. Is there anything in there that we should be aware of right now before we enter? I understand the Temples can have some pretty nasty surprises for uninvited guests.” Shepherd asked, remembering the trouble he had getting through some of the levels in the _Zelda_ games he had played.

 

“You must play or sing the royal lullaby while standing over the Triforce emblem on the floor of the entry hall. Link knows the song I speak of. It will disarm the ancient traps for unwanted trespassers and allow you access to the rest of the building. The Sage's residence is in the rectory towards the south wing of the Temple.” She explained.

 

“And will we be able to access the whole facility?” He asked.

 

“Everything but the Sanctum. For that you will need the key for it, and that is hidden within the Temple itself. Only the Sage knows where it is kept. I have not been made privy to its location.” Zelda told him.

 

“And what are the chances the Sage will be in the Sanctum?” Shepherd asked.

 

“I don't know, but it is a possibility. But if that's the case, the Sanctum should be unsealed. I can't think of a reason why the Sage would lock himself in there. Link should know the way. He's been in there before.” Zelda explained.

 

Shepherd looked to Link who nodded quickly, “From _before_.” He said.

 

“Right, got it.” The General said shaking his head, still trying to comprehend it.

 

“Okay, second order of business, the sangraal jewel.” Shepherd went on, “Rodney wants to know how we're going to deliver it once you get into close proximity with Xehanort. We can't just blow up Fi again, especially if it's in a Temple or a crowded area.”

 

“No, certainly not.” Link agreed. He remembered the pain of losing one of his oldest friends in a previous lifetime and didn't want to experience it again., machine though she might be. “Can it be fixed to another blade? One that isn't made of the same metal as the Master Sword?”

 

“Good question, do you have one in mind?” Shepherd asked.

 

Link went to the bundle that had been given to him upon Epona's arrival and retrieved his trusted Ordonian fencing blade. “The blade needs to be sharpened for real combat, but other than that it's a good sword that's never failed me before.” He said.

 

Shepherd took the sword in question, “It's got a good balance to it.” He said, feeling it. “You sure you want to give it up for this?”

 

“Better this one than Fi. Besides, I don't think I'll be going to the championships this year, do you?” Link asked sarcastically.

 

“No, I guess not.” Shepherd agreed. “By the way, I went over Hyrule's defensive capabilities with your Generals, do you want the whole thing or the short version?”

 

Link gave him a look which couldn't be mistaken for anything else other than, “What do you think?”

 

So Shepherd filled him in, ending with his own educated guesses and the measures he had taken. Link agreed with his assessment, and the measures he had taken to augment the military's numbers. “By my estimates that should more than double our fighting forces when it comes down to the ground fighting.” Shepherd said.

 

“What about the normal emergency response roles of the Hyrule Guard?” Zelda asked. “People are going to be frightened if they do invade. They'll need someone in the towns and cities to keep order.”

 

“That's why I also requested the veterans and former guardsmen to be recalled to active duty, to fill those roles that would be left behind by the younger, more able bodied men pulled to fight.” Shepherd said. “It would have been helpful if I could have been able to form militias as citizen guards as well, but I was told that forced conscription was made illegal years ago by parliament.”

 

“That is true. It was legislation my father sponsored.” Zelda told him.

 

“Right.” Shepherd said, trying to think of a quick way to change the subject. “So, we'll meet back together by eleven o'clock, then, and I will take this to Rodney now and let him figure it out.”

 

* * *

 

The black robed figure moved silently and swiftly among the passersby on the streets under the city lights. The sidewalks of the metropolis were filled with more and more people the closer to the heart of the city he came. There were all kinds of people. Some looked as though they were merely returning home from work, others looked as though they were looking for the next party. He passed by a theater of some kind with scores of people lined up outside to see something inside called, “The Hero's Heart,” at least according to the marquee. He wondered what hero, and what had happened to his heart.

 

The streets were filled with cars, trucks, and other vehicles, as well as a few carriages with horses that seemed to move from one neon-lighted venue to another, as well as around a park that couples strolled through holding hands. There was an energy, a life to the place which was almost electric. He hoped for their sakes that he was successful in his task. He didn't want anyone else hurt.

 

He could feel the source of the light drawing him towards a massive cathedral like building sitting just outside of the walled fortifications of the city's center. Unlike the rest of the city, this building had no people visiting it right now, but it sat behind stone walls of its own, guarded by professional looking soldiers in gray uniforms with very serious looking firearms. He studied the situation carefully. His spells of concealment had held so far, but he could feel this place was different. He didn't know if things would fall apart here or not.

 

“Well,” he whispered to himself, “I didn't come this far to turn back now.”

 

He then carefully and silently headed up the steps towards the first checkpoint where stood two guards. Neither of their heads turned in his direction, though he stood right between and in front of them. He continued on and past them, making no sound. He continued in this same way past the next set of guards, and the next set after that, as well as the dozen or so guards patrolling the perimeter of the inside of the walls around the central building.

 

“Wow, it sure is beautiful.” The stranger said to himself in admiration. The Temple had its own grove of trees off to the north side, and two pools of water separated by a marble walkway leading straight up to the doors. Over the main doors there was a triangle symbol that he didn't recognize, but had seen in different places all over the city. “It must mean something important.” He reasoned. The tall spires of the building crowned it majestically.

 

He walked up to the oddly simple wooden doors and placed his white gloved hand on the door feeling for any magical traps or seals. He sensed several. The seal on the door was absolute. Absolute that is, for everyone except a keyblade master.

 

He motioned with his right hand and what looked like a large golden key with a sword grip appeared. He pointed the keyblade towards the sealed door and a keyhole appeared where none had been before. He thrust the key into the lock and turned it. The door opened silently inwards, and the dark robed figure slipped in, closing the door behind him so no one suspected anything was amiss.

 

After he was certain the door was closed and sealed, he removed his hood to give his large eyes more light to take in the large entry hall which greeted him. His large, round black ears unfolded and began filling his senses with what sounds could be heard in the otherwise silent building.

 

At the opposite end of the hall from the doors was a kind of altar with a marble depiction of wings upswept. On the altar had been set three large gold and jeweled pendants. One was composed of sapphires, one of rubies, and one of emeralds. They seemed to shine with an inner light of their own in the otherwise darkened hall. Behind the altar was a set of doors that were also closed.

 

“Something doesn't feel right here.” The stranger said to himself. “This is a center of light, I can feel that, but there are too many shadows that don't seem to belong.”

 

Just then behind him heard a noise at the door. He quickly pulled his black hood back over his black, short furred head, and ducked off to the side, blending in with what he hoped were natural shadows as the main doors opened once more, and two men stepped inside.

 

 


	37. Chapter 37

Chapter 37

 

The gold covered wooden door opened silently inward upon Zelda's firm touch. “Once the door closes again, the seal will reset.” She told Shepherd and Link. It was midnight precisely according to their watches, the moon overhead beginning its wane. She then moved to enter with them.

 

“Where are you going?” Shepherd asked, standing in her way. “You're not going in there with us, are you?” That just wasn't going to happen. There was no way he was going to allow her to put herself into possible harm's way.

 

“Of course. The Temples and their Sages are my responsibility. Why would I ask you to go in and not go in myself?” Zelda responded.

 

“Look, your highness, we don't know what's in there, and you're the crown princess. I'm not taking you in there and then having to explain to your father why I allowed you to get hurt because some monster neither of us expected popped out of the ceiling.” Shepherd told her. “Look, we should be able to get out again without your help, right?”

 

“The seal was meant to keep unwanted people out, not in.” Zelda admitted.”.

 

“Right.” He replied. “So, go home, get some sleep and we'll report back directly to you first once we're done.”

 

Zelda could see that Shepherd wouldn't be moved. She looked to Link, and could see that the Hero was in full, if silent agreement with his friend. “We'll be fine. We always are.” Link told her confidently.

 

She gave him a look which said, “I know better than that,” but she relented. “Alright. But be careful.” She told them before turning back. The last the two saw of her, she was being escorted by R.H.M.G. personnel out of the Temple complex.

 

The two then turned back to the open gilded wooden door and the dark interior beyond it. “Don't worry, I've been through here before.” Link told him. “We'll be in and out before you know it. Sooner, if the Sage is fine.”

 

“Okay, so let's hope he's just been feeling anti-social for the last twenty years.” Shepherd said, losing hope as the words came out of his mouth. His rifle came comfortably into his hands, his finger on the trigger. He also carried a Hylian sword and shield in the uniform fashion of the R.H.M.G.

 

They passed through the doorway and into the darkened entry hall of the Temple of Light. The door silently swung shut behind them. Patterns of colored light danced gently across the marble floor as the silver moonlight struck the stained glass windows which had been set up high to the sides of the hall. It had its own melancholy beauty to it. It was a lot like the pictures of the sanctuaries of the great Catholic cathedrals back on Earth which Shepherd had seen, except there were no pews lining the hall, and the iconography of the stained glass was of a decidedly different faith with vastly different stories depicted. The altar at the opposite end of the hall was certainly intended for a different offering than those given at a Catholic Mass as well, as three radiant jeweled pieces had been placed over the top of it.

 

Link went to go and stand in front of the altar, and then he knelt on one knee in reverence. To what god or goddess he might be praying Shepherd didn't really know, given the man's unusual history and his own connection with the depictions in the stained glass. But there was something about the place that impressed its sacredness and solemnity on those who entered.

 

Link stood up again and rejoined Shepherd in the center of the entry hall. “For my mother; my birth mother.” He told him, though Shepherd didn't ask. “And to my mother as well, I suppose.” He added. Shepherd hadn't asked about his most recent birth mother before, but Link had told him that she died when he was ten. It then occurred to him that he never said anything about his father. He resolved to ask him later if it became appropriate.

 

Link then drew out the simple wooden flute that Colin had carved for him from a pouch at his side. He looked down at the floor to be certain of where he stood when he played. On the marble floor beneath him was inlaid a golden set of three triangles flanked by outspread wings. He then played a series of six notes.

 

As Shepherd heard them, he recognized the melody. It was the same six notes that both Link and Impa, the last Sage of Time whom had had grown to respect, played in order to open the doorway to the Temple of Time. “Useful tune, that.” Shepherd said.

 

The Triangles beneath them glowed in response, and light began to flood the hall around them, though from what source they couldn't tell. Behind the altar, three doors began to open, allowing access to the rest of the Temple. But that wasn't what caught their immediate attention when the lights came on. No, what caught their attention was that many of the shadows in the hall didn't disappear.

 

“Link, is that supposed to happen?” Shepherd asked, knowing the answer.

 

“Not on a good day, no.” Link said, drawing his sword and shield.

 

Shepherd cocked his rifle. “That's what I was afraid of.”

 

There were a couple of dozen shadows like large black pools of ink along the floor and walls around the entry hall that had been exposed by the radiant light. When the light touched them they began to take shape and solidify into dark three dimensional figures of what looked like giant humanoid lizards armed with swords and maces. Their eyes glowed with a pale green light.

 

“Shadow Lizalfos?” Shepherd asked, not having seen one of the reptile men in a long, long time.

 

Link shrugged his shoulders non-commitally, “What difference does it make?” He replied.

 

“Right.” Shepherd responded, and shot the closest one in the chest with his rifle. It had the immediate effect of getting its attention, but not much else. “Okay, Didn't expect that!”

 

The creature used its tail and whipped the rifle away from Shepherd, at which point he drew his own sword from its scabbard, the shield he had carried adorned his left arm. He had only agreed to wear them because it was part of the Guard uniform he had been given, but now he remembered the immediate practicality of the medieval weapons when dealing with the threats of this world. Tiny lead bullets don't always work against creatures born of magic. Sometimes you needed steel.

 

Link didn't hear Shepherd's last comment as he went to work. He hadn't even bothered with carrying a rifle this time. It was cumbersome and slowed him down. The dark Lizalfo nearest him fell as the swordsman bashed his long reptile snout in with his shield and plunged his sword through its breastplate and into its chest, quickly pulling it out again. The creature fell to the ground and disappeared in a puff of black smoke. He then engaged the next one which proved to be a better fighter than the first, and lasted a little longer against the Hero until Link took off its head.

 

Shepherd blocked the strike of the one he'd made angry with his own shield and caught the creature in the side. It brought its tail around again and used it like a whip lashing his legs, tripping him up and dropping the human on his backside. The Lizalfo took advantage of it to quickly attempt another slash at his head, but then found his own sword blocked by what looked like a huge golden skeleton key.

 

“Pick on someone your own size!” Cried a high pitched voice as the key swung back around slashing at the shadow across the midsection, disemboweling and dropping the creature.

 

Shepherd looked up in disbelief to see that his rescuer wasn't the friend he walked in with having teenage troubles with his voice. Instead it was a four foot giant black mouse with a tan face, white gloves, yellow shoes and garbed in what looked like a long black leather cloak with a metal zipper up the front. “You've got to be kidding me.” He exclaimed as he recognized the face and voice of their new ally all too well from movies and cartoons he'd seen or heard of all of his pre-adolescent life.

 

“We'll get to the introductions later!” The mouse said as he gave Shepherd his four fingered hand to help him to his feet. The man couldn't help but just stare at him as he turned back to the shadow creatures wielding his huge key weapon like a samurai master.

 

“You've got to be kidding me.” Shepherd said again in disbelief. He then was snapped out of it by the charge of another shadow warrior whose blow he just barely got his shield raised in time to block.

 

“Get your head in the game, soldier!” The mouse called out to him. “We've got a lot of work to do!”

 

“Uh, Right!” Shepherd called back as he cleared his head and used his own sword to drop the monster.

 

Link took out two more, and the mouse felled four more on his own using a magic spell involving spinning blades of light that sought out the living shadows like guided missiles. The three of them began to work their way through the monsters until the last one disappeared into black smoke after it lost its head in a duel with Shepherd.

 

“Clear!” Shepherd called out as no more shadows appeared in the entry hall, he then went to retrieve his firearm which had landed on the floor and skidded against the north wall. “Clear!” Came Link's and the mouse's response.

 

“Now, time for me to properly introduce myself.” The mouse began turning around to offer his hand to shake. “I'm...”

 

“Mickey Mouse.” Shepherd finished for him, staring at the mouse's free hand as though he didn't know what to do with it.

 

“Why yes!” Mickey said. “You know of me?” His left hand was still extended, and Shepherd finally took it, shaking it gingerly before pulling back, thoroughly weirded out by the experience. Link shook the mouse's hand in a friendly but confused manner as well.

 

“Uh... yeah. I've heard of you somewhere before.” He said trying to remain nonchalant and cool about the absurd situation he had just found himself in. “Uh, what are you doing here?”

 

Mickey's expression turned very serious and troubled. It was a look on the mouse's face which Shepherd had honestly never seen him drawn with in all of his childhood or adult life watching images of the Disney figure. “I have to find someone; a sorceress who entered your world recently. She and I have the same enemy, an evil man name Xehanort. He's committed a horrible number of crimes in our realms and has to be stopped and brought to justice. I traced her here, and she was tracking him. If she traced him here, then he's going to be a very serious threat to your realm too.” Mickey's tone of voice had become all business.

 

“He's here, and he's already a threat.” Link told the mouse. “The sorceress is gone.”

 

“Gone? Where? How?” The mouse asked, and Shepherd and Link explained the story as quickly as they could. When they finished, Mickey nodded and smiled, “I'm glad your friend was able to do that for her. She's been in such pain for so long. That's why she was hurting people before. I hope she's able to make things right with Aurora. So, what are your names?”

 

“I'm John Shepherd, and this is Link Faroson.” Shepherd told him, feeling like he was in some kind of a weird hallucination.

 

“How did you enter the Temple? No one but the royal family or the Temple's Sage can unseal the door.” Link asked.

 

“I used my keyblade.” Mickey said, holding it up for them to see. “I can unlock any door with it, even the doors between worlds, or the door to a person's heart.” He then looked at the sword in Link's hand, “But you know that already, don't you keyblade master Link?” He said, gesturing to the Master Sword.

 

“What do you mean?” Link asked, looking at the sword he had carried in every lifetime he had lived. He knew from his deep memories that it had originally been crafted by Hylia long ago on Atlantis before their exile to Hyrule had become permanent, and he knew it was a _lamna clavia_ , a keyblade for accessing the Sacred Realm, but he had never known any property of the Master Sword giving it the ability to open any other lock.

 

The mouse eyed the blue and silver sword critically, but said nothing as he did so. “We may need to talk later.” He finally told him. “It could be very important. But for right now, we need to find Xehanort and stop him. I came here because I thought this is where he would be most drawn to.”

 

“Look, uh, Mickey,” Shepherd was trying to make the best of the situation, “uh, we're in here trying to figure out what might have happened to the Sage of Light. He's kind of like a religious sorcerer or wizard that guards the Temple and prays to his god all the time. The palace and another Sage we _can_ talk to have lost contact with him. That fact that he didn't show up when we turned on the lights tells us something's wrong. Do you have any ideas as to whether or not Xehanort might be behind it?” Shepherd asked, still trying to accept the fact that he just asked Mickey Mouse a serious question upon which answer the fate of the world might rest.

 

“Would he be a person in whose heart there is no darkness?” The mouse asked sincerely.

 

“Yeah, I'm pretty sure he would.” Shepherd responded, looking at Link questioningly. Link nodded in agreement.

 

“Then we need to try and find him quickly, or else he's going to be in serious, serious danger. Xehanort will try and use his heart along with several others to open the doorway to Kingdom Hearts. The fact there were heartless in here already tells me we might be too late, but we need to try.” The mouse told them. “I'm going with you.” He said with high pitched determination.

 

“Looks like it's going to be that kind of a mission. Welcome aboard.” Shepherd said graciously.

 

“Thank you!” The mouse said cheerfully. “Okay, let's go!” He then looked at the three open doorways and asked, “uh, which way?”

 

“The Sage's residence is on the south side of the Temple in the rectory, we should check there first.” Link said. “So we go through the door to our right.” Link said, pointing with his sword. Mickey, keyblade in hand, led the way.

 

“So, where did you know him from? Another video game?” Link asked Shepherd, whispering.

 

“I really don't want to talk about it. And whatever you do, don't tell Rodney about this if we can help it.” Shepherd told him.

 

Link nodded in understanding. “To be honest, it's kind of weird even for me.”

 

* * *

 

After he had thought Bill and Daniel had gone to bed that night, Rodney was still awake and working on his own project to assist in the defense of Castleton against the expected invasion. “Learn to play the game by its own rules.” He kept repeating to himself. He and Shepherd had discussed it after his meeting in the war room.

 

“How many people are in this city would you guess?” Shepherd had asked him.

 

“I don't know. It's obviously grown a lot in two hundred years. I'd estimate around half a million just from what we've seen, minimum.” Rodney had answered.

 

“And probably more. From my understanding there are several large cities, but from a military standpoint, Castleton would be the one with the biggest target painted on it, wouldn't you say?” He asked.

 

“Yeah, most likely with the main armory and military complex here,” Rodney answered, “Where are you going with this?”

 

“What happens to the civilian population if there's an aerial assault?” Shepherd wondered aloud. “There's a lot of innocent people in this city who would be hurt.”

 

“So what are we talking about then? You're worried about bombers aren't you?” Rodney's mind went into gear.

 

“Bombers and other aircraft which could drop uninvited guests or unwanted presents, yeah.” Shepherd answered. “There doesn't seem to be any good places set up to protect the population in that kind of a campaign, and we can't just announce an evacuation based on what I would do in the enemy's position. And in the event of a bombing campaign there would be no time. So I'm asking you, with everything we now know about Ancient tech and Hyrule's combination of tech and magic, is there anything we can do to secure the city from a potential bombing raid?”

 

Rodney had started going through the possibilities in his mind. “How much time do you think we've got?”

 

“If I was them, not much. A day or two more at most. They just declared war yesterday, so they've probably already got their forces geared up and just waiting for the word.” Shepherd had said.

 

“Okay, give me a couple of hours, and I'll eventually need the manpower to set something up.” Rodney had told him.

 

“You've got something in mind?” Shepherd asked hopefully.

 

“Yeah, maybe. It's a long-shot, and I don't know if we can fulfill the power requirements, but... yeah, maybe.” Rodney said, already going through the calculations in his mind. “I'll need to work with the castle magicians to iron out the details though.”

 

“I'll send some your way.” Shepherd told him, somewhat impressed that Rodney would even consider Hylian magic in his calculations.

 

“And I'll need a lab space to work. I think they turned my old one into a library or something.” Rodney said.

 

“It's been two hundred and thirty years, you can't expect them to just keep it set up for you.” Shepherd replied. “I'll have them clear some space for you.”

 

“Good.” Rodney said, happy to have something useful and even challenging to do after being forced to learn more about Bill Lee's Disney video games than he ever wanted to know.

 

Now, three hours after that conversation, he wondered if he had finally promised something that was actually impossible as he went over the factors with three of the castle magicians who weren't particularly happy about being kept up this late at night.

 

“The magic doesn't work like that!” Afredo, a blond bearded man in a white lab coat with spectacles kept telling him, and Rodney would have to patiently try and work around his objections. The other men, an older man with a more open mind and his lab assistant apprentice were more willing to try and make the magic work the way he wanted it to, but even they were having trouble following his lines of reasoning.

 

“So what do we need then to make it work like that?” He asked. “Do we need more crystals, a bigger power source, what? Don't tell me what I can't do, tell me what I can do!”

 

The thing that really frustrated him was that he knew he was out of his element. If magic was a science like physics, it had its own logic to it that Rodney just couldn't fathom, but he needed to in order to deliver what he told Shepherd might be able to be done.

 

“We need more crystals, and we just don't have enough to fix a perimeter around the whole city like what you're suggesting. It's never been done before.” Afredo told him. “The whole thing is too theoretical. There hasn't been open conflict between the east and west for over fifty years. Why would we even need to consider these kinds of measures?”

 

“Hello? Mr. Wizard! Anyone home? Excuse me, genius, but a hostile nation doesn't go and declare war and then sit on its hands and drink tea, now does it.” Rodney said, the sarcasm dripping from his voice. “I didn't ask if it had been done before, I asked what we needed to do it.” Rodney retorted. “I thought magical barriers like this had been raised over Hyrule Castle before.”

 

“According to legend, yes. But then it was by powerful sorcerers with the aid of a part of the Triforce. We don't have that resource at our disposal.” The older man, Rodney thought his name was something like Phil maybe, told him in a more reasoned tone of voice.

 

“Yeah, well we don't happen to have one of those at our disposal.” He said bitterly, still stinging from the three that had been dropped into his lap disappearing without a trace. “Believe me, I wish we did, but the only people who have access to it aren't going to go there for something as small as a little war among mortals. It's meant for frying much bigger fish.”

 

“Perhaps we don't need more crystals, but bigger ones at set points. And perhaps we can bring the perimeter in a bit, not covering the whole city area but let's say bring it down to here.” Phil pointed out a halfway point on the map where the city became more densely packed. “If we could evacuate the population to within this area, then maybe we could do it. And we could, theoretically, tie the system into our time-shift power grid. It might cause a blackout in the city, but it also might give it enough power to work for more than the few minutes a normal spell of this kind does. Maybe up to an hour?”

 

Rodney pushed aside his annoyance with Afredo and began working it over in his head. “Yeah, that just might work. Let's crunch the numbers again, and if they look good, we'll call the boys in gray and get started setting it up.”

 

“Tonight?” Afredo complained. “It's after midnight, Doctor McKay!”

 

“Yes. Yes it is. And if bombers start flying at dawn or enemy troops start parachuting down I'll just direct them towards your house first for an early morning wake up call.” Rodney said sarcastically. “So, still feeling tired? No? Good. Then let's get back to work.”

 

* * *

 

Shepherd, Link and Mickey had been searching the residence, and most of the outlying rooms of the Temple for two hours, running into more stray shadow creatures as they went from chamber to chamber. These were dispatched as soon as they were discovered. There was no sign of the Sage of Light. The only room in the complex left for them to search was the Sanctum, except they had no way of entering because the key was still hidden somewhere in the Temple.

 

They came to stand in front of the chamber. It wasn't difficult for them to reach, it was right through the center door from the entry hall, and down a short tunnel. “This is the sanctum entrance,” Link said, trying to forget the experience of the last time he had to enter hundreds of years ago. It was an unpleasant experience involving a giant armored spider thing, one of the Demon King's pets. “It's sealed tight.” He said, looking at the door, and feeling the oddly shaped lock with his hand.

 

“So, how do we open the door? We searched everywhere in this place and didn't find the key for it.” Shepherd asked, looking at the imposing set of gold doors. “What if he took the key inside it with him?”

 

“Why would he do that?” Link asked. “Why would he lock himself in?”

 

Mickey, while listening, had been studying the door lock. “Let me try.” He said, and he pointed his keyblade at the door. The lock on the door began to change shape until it grew and resembled something big enough for the massive key to fit within. He inserted the keyblade and turned it. The door opened inwards.

 

“I wish I had known how to do that trick with the Master Sword before.” Link said, impressed. “It would have saved me a lot of trouble in the past.”

 

“Didn't anyone teach you how to use your keyblade?” Mickey asked. “I had a master teach me and had to pass an exam.”

 

“No. I've always had to figure it out as I went.” Link said, sword in hand scanning the scene which presented itself through the open doorway, trying to understand what he was looking at as the three entered the doorway, blades at hand.

 

They came into a circular stone room lined with pillars that stood around the circumference. As elsewhere in the Temple, golden light glowed within the room from no discernible source. In the center of the room was a small pedestal with an indentation similar to the much larger one in the Temple of Time where normally rested the Master Sword. Arranged around the pedestal in a circle were the seals symbolizing the different elements represented by the Temples and their Sages. That part of the room was painfully familiar to Link as the mistake he and Zelda had made as children many lifetimes ago had caused the ruin of their world; a ruin that took seven years to repair. It was the figure dressed in red and gold robes suspended above it that was new to his considerable experience.

 

“Is that the Sage of Light?” Mickey asked, looking at him strangely, as if trying to see through him.

 

“I think so. I've only seen a picture of him once in school a couple of years ago from when the King was crowned before I was born... uh, reborn.” Link replied. “He looks about twenty or thirty years older than in the film of the coronation, though.”

 

The portly Hylian man was suspended in mid air, though there was no discernible means for him to be so. His long hair had turned mostly white from what might have originally been a light brown. His face held a brown beard with streaks of white. His eyes were closed as if in sleep.

 

“What's wrong with him?” Shepherd asked, not seeing anything else in the room to explain the Sage's condition.

 

“I don't know.” Link said. “The only thing this reminds me of is this one time when Ganondorf held Zelda prisoner in a similar way.”

 

“And how did that turn out?” Mickey asked, still eying the Sage, trying to understand what he thought he was sensing.

 

“Not well. He possessed her body and used her to try and kill me. I still have nightmares about it.” Link said matter-of-factly. “Among other things.”

 

Shepherd couldn't even imagine what Link must have gone through that time. He'd only been married once, and that ended badly all by itself. Sure, there'd been other women, but nothing like the relationship Link had with the princess.

 

“I don't know what I would have done if it had been Minnie.” Mickey empathized. “I've had a lot of friends hurt, but Minnie's always been protected from that kind of evil. Although Xehanort did use a good friend of mine like that. It took a long time for him to recover from it. I'm so glad now that Riku's free of him.”

 

“It's been about par for my life.” Link said as he studied the man too. “There doesn't seem to be any depth to which evil men won't sink to try and get what they want. Oddly enough, growing up this time in Ordonville has been the closest thing I've had to a normal life in hundreds of life-times.”

 

“No, there certainly doesn't.” Mickey agreed with him knowingly.

 

“Look at that.” Mickey finally pointed at the man. “Do you see it?”

 

“See what?” Shepherd asked, not sure what the mouse was pointing at.

 

“It's barely perceptible, but it's there. A thin line of darkness is just above his head and wrapping around his body. I think it's what's suspending him above the floor. We'll need to somehow cut it to get him down.” Mickey told them. “Maybe if we just try and dispel some of it?”

 

Link looked hard and just barely saw the translucent shadow that Mickey had pointed out. “Let me try something.” He pointed the tip of his blade towards the ceiling. The Master Sword began to glow with a white radiant light, he then pointed it at where he thought the line was and released the built up energy within it. A wave of radiant bright energy flew from the blade and cut straight through the line of darkness, dispelling the tether and dropping the man to the stone floor.

 

They went to his side as he hit. The man's eyes blinked open, and he asked, “Where? Where am I?”

 

“You're in the Sanctum of the Temple of Light, your grace. You were sealed inside.” Link answered, trying to help him up.

 

“Yes, yes, I am aren't I?” The man said, then his eyes fell on the open door. “You opened the door, how?”

 

Mickey came around and was about to explain, but then he looked into his eyes. “Uh, fellas? What color are the Sage's eyes normally?” He asked aloud, seeing his gold colored eyes with bright yellow highlights.

 

Then the man dropped all pretense and tried to make a dash for the door, but Shepherd blocked his way with a sword and shield. The man then struck the ground with his fist and a wave of darkness came pulsing at them, knocking Shepherd off of his feet. Link reacted on instinct and somersaulted high above the wave while Mickey jumped over it and rolled coming up on his feet again in front of the combative Sage.

 

“YOU!” The Sage roared, darkness swirling around him, recognizing the mouse. “How could you have found me here?!” He yelled.

 

“You know how to drive out the darkness don't you Xehanort?!” Mickey shouted back. “You turn up the light!” And he pointed his keyblade at the man's chest. A beam of pure light shot from the end of the key and struck the man in the heart. “Link, back me up!” Mickey cried out.

 

Link saw what Mickey was trying to do and thought he understood. He raised the Master Sword to the sky again, and then pointed the tip, aiming for the center of the man's chest. Once more a wave of light was unleashed and slammed into the man. The portly man screamed an unearthly scream and fell to the ground.

 

Before the other two realized what he was going to do, Mickey took the opportunity to plunge the end of his key into the man's chest like he was inserting it into a lock, and then somehow he turned it. The darkness which now surrounded the Sage like a cloud dissipated and then was gone. His eyes changed their color to a deep blue. The mouse pulled the key out of the man's chest, leaving no marks or indications that he had ever been impaled at all.

 

Shepherd got back up to his feet. I will never disrespect that mouse again, he thought to himself as he watched the scene unfold. “Where'd you learn to do that?” He asked Mickey.

 

“Years of practice unfortunately.” The mouse responded.

 

“The Hero?” The Sage asked as he looked upon Link as though he was just coming to his senses. “No, that's not right. You're not supposed to be here. You and my Lady were done with your tasks.” He said.

 

“Obviously not.” Link replied, more tired than he realized. “What happened?”

 

“There was a dark presence,” The Sage began. “I felt it coming. I felt the power of it, it spoke to me, called out to the evil in my own heart. I recognized the danger I was in from the darkness in my own heart and sealed myself in here, in the Sanctum, but somehow the dark presence broke through the seal and found me here. It invaded my mind and heart, but trapped within my body it couldn't leave. For, for a long time I fought against it as it studied my mind, tempted me, taunted me. It was a living nightmare, eventually it broke through.”

 

“Broke through to what?” Shepherd asked.

 

“It wanted to know about the Sacred Realm, and the Master Sword. It wanted to know about something called 'Kingdom Hearts,' but I had never heard of it. And then the Sacred Realm flashed into my mind, and it seized on that. It wanted to know everything about it. It wanted to know where the entry point was and how to enter the Sacred Realm. It wanted to know about the Triforce. I couldn't stop it, it took the information from my mind. He took it just like he took control of me.” The portly man began to weep. “I couldn't stop him, after... after so long he got what he wanted.”

 

“He knows how to enter the Sacred Realm?” Link asked.

 

“Yes.” The Sage of Light answers. “Goddesses forgive me, I told him everything.” And his tears flowed freely as he began to sob.

 


	38. Chapter 38

Chapter 38

 

Russel had reported to the red brick Ordonville barracks as ordered, riding up on his horse Xavier. In any other town it might have been considered an unusual mode of transportation, but not in Ordonville, and he wasn't the only old-timer who arrived with such transportation. There were a few dozen horses tied up just outside of the Guard command post that didn't have strictly R.H.M.G. regulation saddles. It was just a pale reflection of how many Ordonians had served in his majesty's Guard as cavalrymen over the past several decades, being able to patrol rough terrain where motorized vehicles couldn't go. Several of them still had their owners riding up and dismounting, among them was a face from Russel's past.

 

“Claude?” He asked the other horseback rider in the gray cavalry uniform as he pulled up alongside him. “Claude Mason?”

 

“Hey, Russel!” Claude said, slapping the other man on the back. “Haven't seen you since the last unit reunion, what, ten years ago?”

 

“Something like that.” Russel said. They both dismounted, and removed their helmets. “I've been busy, raising the family, feeding the livestock, that kind of thing.”

 

“Yeah.” Claude said. “Your boy came through my inn up across the gorge a few nights past. Good lad that one. You did well raising him for Sara. She'd be proud of the man he's become.”

 

“I hope so.” Russel replied non-commitally as they walked through the reinforced metal doors of the barracks. “I've been wondering if letting him go was the right thing, now, with all the trouble it's caused.”

 

“Rubbish,” Claude said, “Look at what the boy did! You can't stop a man from his destiny, and we don't always get to choose the consequences of that destiny for ourselves or anyone else, Russ; especially not that one. You can't blame him for what everyone else does with it. He's got to be who he is, just like you and I have to be who we are; the best damned cavalrymen in the whole of Ordon.”

 

“The whole of Hyrule, you mean.” Russel picked up on the old inside joke. “I don't think these new boys they're turning out in Castleton know which way to get on the horse.”

 

Inside, they were directed straight back to the large yard outside behind the building where the barracks' patrol and response vehicles were kept. They were met by a few hundred of their fellow Guardsmen, many of them were much younger than Russel and Claude, but there were almost as many men with gray in their hair and mustaches with out of style uniforms as there were younger men reporting in from the reserves.

 

“Looks like all the rest of us old-timers in Ordonville and surrounding showed up for the party too.” Claude observed. He then spied a group of almost a dozen Ordonian men wearing cavalry uniforms from decades ago, similar to theirs. “And there's our boys.”

 

The two moved over to join their old unit. A younger officer, a lieutenant by the look of him, was taking down information from them. Russel walked up and presented him, “Lieutenant Captain Russel Swordsmith, acting commanding officer, 3rd Cavalry Ordon Province, reporting for duty as requested sir.”

 

The young officer heard the name and looked up from his paperwork, “Lieutenant Captain Swordsmith, sir.” He addressed him. He was a blond Hylian kid, fresh out of officer's training by the look of him. “It's an honor.” He said.

 

“The king called, I answered.” Russel said flatly. He had never needed anyone to be honored by his presence. “Do we have deployment orders yet?”

 

“Yes, if your unit's complete.” The officer told him, checking his paperwork. “We need cavalry for special assignment to a command post in Faron Woods.”

 

“There is no command post in Faron Woods, lad. It's too enchanted, everyone knows that. Not safe for anyone.” Claude told him. “That's why highway one goes around it and not through it.”

 

“The post is on a need to know basis by king's orders.” The officer said. “I was just told about it myself about half an hour ago. “Your experience on horseback will be an asset in getting there and augmenting the existing guard units already posted.”

 

“When do we leave?” Russel asked.

 

“If you and your mounts are all ready to ride, as soon as you sign here that you've received your orders and accepted re-enlistment for the duration of active hostilities between the United Kingdom of Hyrule and the Republic of Hyrule, sir. It'll take several hours to reach, even on horseback. It's now eight o'clock. You're asked to be in position by dawn.”

 

“Alright boys, everyone else sign the man's papers?” Russel asked.

 

“Yes, sir.” They all affirmed.

 

Russel then signed his own name in large Hylian letters, followed by Claude. “3rd Cavalry Unit, Ordon Province, mount up!” He commanded.

 

* * *

 

“Look, Mickey,” Shepherd started, trying to figure out how to say this, “some of the people we're with, they may not understand or react well to uh,... to seeing you uh...” He gestured to all of the mouse, still not sure as to how to explain the problem without sounding like a jerk.

 

Mickey stood there smiling, waiting for him to finish his explanation. Seeing Shepherd's difficulty, Link took over, “What he means to say, is that some of our people have also heard of you and may be so distracted by seeing you they can't concentrate on what they're supposed to be doing.”

 

“Right!” Shepherd agreed, nodding a thank you towards Link.

 

“Oh, right.” Mickey replied. “I think I understand.” He drew his black leather hood over his head and then vanished. “Don't worry, I'm still here. It's just a spell. If you need me, I'll be right near by,” said a high pitched disembodied voice.

 

They had returned the broken Sage to his residence to get some real sleep. Shepherd had thought maybe they should take him back to the palace to get some medical help or at least some counseling, but Link advised against it. “What regular mortal counselor is going to know how to help him recover from this?” He asked. “Let him get some real sleep tonight, and we'll contact the Sage of Time in the morning. He'll know more about how to help him through it.”

 

Neither Shepherd nor Mickey could disagree with his logic, but the military commander was still a bit uneasy. “I still don't want to leave him alone by himself right now. Not after what the guy has been through.” He said. As he pulled on the main door, it slid open easily. He called out to the nearest guardsman he could see, an older Hylian man. “Guardsman, come here.”

 

The man came rushing over, “Yes, sir?”

 

“The Sage of Time is back in his residence asleep, but I don't really want him by himself right now. I want you to go and stand guard in his residence while he sleeps. He's been through a lot, and he was pretty out of it and shaken up when we found him. You don't have to stand over his bed, but just be nearby when he wakes up. Keep your sword handy as well. We're pretty sure we got all the shadow creatures we found, but just keep your eyes open.” Shepherd instructed him.

 

“Shadow creatures, sir?” The guardsman asked nervously.

 

“You'll know it if one's there. The residence is through the doorway to your right and down the hall.” Shepherd told him.

 

“Yes, sir.” The guardsman said, he then noticed the four foot mouse in the black leather robe, and quickly glanced away.

 

“He's with us.” Link told him.

 

“Understood, sir. Anything further?” The guardsman asked.

 

“Nope, just keep an eye on our friend back there.” Shepherd said.

 

The guardsman nodded then moved off to carry out his instructions. They could hear the sound of his footfalls slowly fading as he moved deeper into the Temple.

 

Mickey pulled his hood over his head just as they exited the main entry doors of the Temple, and all the guards who observed them coming out saw was the two men exiting that had entered, exhausted, but seeming no worse the wear.

 

“I need a good cup of coffee.” Shepherd said out loud as they passed between the two pools. “Strong tea would be welcome.” Link agreed. Their invisible companion remained silent on the subject, but Shepherd made a mental note to try and make sure he didn't get forgotten, invisible or not, when the tea pot got passed around. He really wished coffee grew in Hyrule for days like this.

 

He still had to report to Zelda, and check on Rodney's progress on his secret project. He also had to check in with the war room and get an update on enemy movements. Link would be joining him for all of it, he knew, and he suspected the mouse wouldn't be far behind. Heck, after his performance in the Temple, Shepherd could even be glad of that, weird or not.

 

“General, sir.” A guardsman flagged him down, running up to him. “Guard command has requested yours and Supreme Commander Link's presence in the war room immediately. They said it was urgent.”

 

“Okay, we were headed that way anyway.” Shepherd told him. “They didn't happen to mention what they wanted at,” he checked his watch, “three o'clock in the morning, did they?”

 

“No sir,” the guardsman replied, “It was your eyes and above only.”

 

“Oh boy.” He responded. “I guess we stop in the war room first then.”

 

“I have a car waiting, sir.” The guardsman said.

 

“Lead the way.” Link told him, gesturing. He discreetly motioned behind him for Mickey to follow.

 

* * *

 

Rodney, being up on a ladder, had his hands in the innards of a Castleton street lamp, replacing the incandescent bulb with something a little more exotic. “Alright, a little adjustment here, and... voila! It's connected. Now, let's see if it will accept the juice without blowing up or something.” He said as he connected the voltage lines to the small blue crystal and restored the flow of power. The crystal glowed with a tiny sapphire light, but nothing more interesting, or disastrous, happened.

 

“Good. Very good. So far, so good.” Rodney said, monitoring it for a few more minutes. “So, one down, uh...” he checked his calculations again, “two hundred to go.” He said with a yawn. “Okay, stay focused, McKay.”

 

He climbed down the ladder, and packed up his equipment. At two other points in the city, Phil and Afredo were performing the exact same procedure. He listened on the radio as the two wizards reported in their successes with the experimental installations.

 

“Okay, Corporal,” he said to the Guard driver, “Next street light down the block.” They would be working all the rest of the night, he knew, but once they were done, if it worked as he hoped it would, it would be worth it.

 

It had been Afredo's idea actually to use the existing street lamps along the circumference that Phil had drawn out as emitters. All they really needed for it to work was to plug the tiny blue crystals into a power source, and set them all off at once with the right spell. The city's power grid would do the rest. The biggest downside was that they couldn't test it until they needed it. By Rodney's calculations, it wouldn't even be finished at this rate until six o'clock in the morning, right when the sun came up.

 

“Shepherd to McKay.” Came Shepherd's voice over the two way radio.

 

“Yeah, go for McKay.” Rodney answered with another yawn.

 

“Rodney what's the status on that project we talked about?” Shepherd asked.

 

“Uh, I just installed the first emitter about a minute ago, Afredo and Phil should have their first ones up too, so I'm thinking around six-ish or so. Are we in a hurry?” He asked, not really wanting an honest answer.

 

“That'll be pushing it, but I guess it'll do. Supreme Command just got word from coastal radar and satellite observation. The eastern Republic launched about five dozen assault gyrocopters half an hour before I got here. They'll be over the field and Castleton by six. We need to have it up and running preferably before they get here.” Shepherd told him.

 

“You're just trying to pressure me to work harder, aren't you?” Rodney asked sarcastically. “Oh, let's put Rodney under the threat of death again.”

 

“Just get it done McKay. Dawn's coming faster than we want it to today. Shepherd out.” Shepherd told him.

 

McKay's vehicle stopped at the next street lamp. “Okay, let's do this.” He said, getting out and putting the ladder into place again.

 

Just then a loud wail began across the city, and an even louder mature female voice called out from an unseen source. “All civilians, by royal order please relocate on foot to the Castleton city center for your own safety. This is not drill. All civilians, by royal order please relocate on foot to the Castleton city center for your own safety. This is not a drill.”

 

Lights came on all over what had been a dark neighborhood around Rodney, as dogs started barking, and people began moving about in confusion. Within minutes, people came pouring out of their apartment buildings and homes, some of them still in their nightclothes, all of them headed deeper into the city towards Old Castle Town. “Oh that's just great, John!” He said in exasperation while he replaced the next bulb. “Clog the streets while I've got to get around the city quickly!” He started working faster, knowing that if he didn't get it done, the middle of the city would be the worst place for anyone to be.

 

* * *

 

Link had left Shepherd in the Supreme Command war room after learning of the now definite invasion. Most of the Guardsmen which had been stationed in Castleton had been re-deployed to Hyrule field where it was calculated that the bulk of the invading force would land. The retired Guardsmen from the city and the surrounding villages who had answered the call up that night, and there were many, were now being used to direct the crowds and augment the internal city and palace defenses.

 

Shepherd's place had naturally been in the war room, directing the defenses. He was a natural military strategist and had more experience with warfare than Hyrule's own native generals had in the last several decades. But Link's place, in spite of his own considerable experience, was with his majesty and the princess. They had their own bodyguards it was true, but none of them could match Link's fighting skills, and Shepherd agreed. Link's place was guarding the royal family from a direct attack on the palace. Link didn't know exactly where Mickey had gone, the mouse had been quiet as a... well, a mouse since they left the Temple of Light.

 

His majesty and her highness had been in their own apartments, asleep in the east wing of the palace when Link and Shepherd had returned. At least that was the last place they were supposed to be, so that was where Link had headed.

 

When he arrived, he was surprised to find both king and princess awake and dressed. His majesty wore the suit of clothes he had on from earlier in that day without the jacket as well as his crown. Zelda wore tan ladies' trousers, riding boots, and a modest pink blouse with silver highlights. A thin diadem of gold sat atop her brow. His majesty's suit now bore the additional accessory of a sizable sword strapped to his back, and a very noticeable black colored pistol sidearm holstered at his left breast.

 

“Your majesty, I came to see you and the princess to safety. There are rooms in the old dungeons deep below where I can take you where no one can reach you.” Link told the older man.

 

The king looked him in the eye and said, “I'm not going anywhere, my son. Not while my kingdom is threatened.”

 

Link looked to Zelda, hoping that she might talk some sense into her father, but she slowly shook her head, “Our place is with our people.” She said, “Not hiding in a hole. They need to see us standing strong. How can they have courage if we hide like cowards?” She asked.

 

Link couldn't argue, but he did say adamantly, “Then I'm still staying with you.”

 

“Good. You can lead us into the center of Old Castle Town so that we can be visible to the people and encourage them.” His majesty told him.

 

Link had a really bad feeling about the king's plans, but he couldn't contradict the man. “Okay, then let's go.”

 

* * *

 

A command post of sorts had been set up in front of the fountain in the center of Old Castle Town. Retired Guardsmen that had been recalled surrounded the town square on foot and on horseback to oversee security. Royal Family Protection agents in their black suits were everywhere among the crowd of people that flooded into the walls of the Old Town trying to weed out the adults who had successfully sneaked past the guards at the gates.

 

All of the children of the city had been carefully taken into the Old Town behind the ancient walls where it was thought they might be safer, while their parents and other adults had been asked to stay outside. There was no room for all of the hundreds of thousands of people behind the portcullises and drawbridges that someone in the royal family had had the foresight to maintain in working order and even upgrade for all of those centuries. It wasn't well known among the people, but the walls and gates had been regularly enchanted and fortified to withstand the pounding of artillery fire.

 

It was cold and damp at that hour of the morning. The sun still hadn't risen, and there were children in the square who hadn't brought blankets, or some of them even proper coats. The Princess had quickly seen to it that every one of them received something to stay warm with, as well as warm drinks. She stood near by the fountain telling stories of the ancient legends through a microphone and speakers which had been brought in. Those children, Hylian, Goron, Ordonian, and even a few Zora here and there who were awake to hear it were wide eyed at the way she told them as though she herself had personally been there. There were so many children filling the streets and sidewalks of the Old Town that the pavement could barely be seen for the small bodies sitting, standing, or lying down.

 

King Daphnes worked near the fountain as well trying to coordinate the city's guard response. He knew there were other men who could do the task, but it was his city and his people, and he wanted them to know he was with them in this.

 

Link stood in position in between Zelda and the king trying to keep an eye on both. They promised him they wouldn't allow themselves to be too far away from him if things really got bad. So far, it had just been a big impromptu children's slumber party hosted by the royal family as far as the Hero could see, but he hadn't been outside the walls. He knew there would have to be panicked people out there.

 

It was an hour until dawn, and the sky was already starting to get a little lighter. The children were getting tired, and many were asleep as Zelda continued to talk, sipping from a strong cup of tea. Then, Link's sharp ears began to pick up what sounded like the distant buzzing of bees; lots and lots of bees.

 

“Here we go.” Link whispered to himself, knowing what the buzzing sound portended.

 

Zelda continued to talk until the buzzing sound grew louder, and then her voice died away as she looked to the sky. Link looked too, but could make anything out yet.

 

Then there was a great flash of energy like lightning several feet in front of Link. When the smoke had cleared from the strike, there was an older, bald man with a long gray goatee and yellow eyes standing there, dressed in a black leather robe similar to the one Mickey had been wearing. In his right hand was a wicked looking black weapon that had the vaguest resemblance to an old key. The old man fixed his eyes on Link and grinned.

 

There were a number of sleeping children in between the old man and Link. The old man flicked the fingers of his left hand and they were roughly pushed across the cobblestones of the street to the sides, creating a pathway. The old man began to walk slowly towards the Hero. Link drew his sword and shield, though he worried about all the children around them that might get caught in between them. This isn't the right place for this! He thought.

 

“Finally,” The old man said, gazing at the Master Sword in Link's hand, “after so many years of searching and trying to recreate it from scratch, here it is. The Chi-Blade. The true Chi-Blade.” He sounded almost giddy with excitement. “And a young new body to wield it for me.” He smiled evilly.

 

“Xehanort I presume.” Link said, unimpressed. “You're not welcome here.”

 

“Oh? How rude of me.” He laughed. “Well, then I'll just take what I came for and go.”

 

Well that's enough conversation, Link thought to himself, and launched himself into the air to deliver a strike to the old man's head. But the old man raised his hand and Link froze in mid air. He then snapped his fingers and the Hero fell to the ground hard. Unwilling to stay down, Link jumped back to his feet and spun himself up to deliver a forceful strike to the old man, but he blocked it with his own weapon easily. Link came at him again and again from every angle he knew, spinning and vaulting around him and the man managed to catch every blow of his sword with his own key shaped blade. Link raised the Master Sword high to charge it and the man took advantage of the slight pause in his attacks to hit him in the stomach with the blunt side of his own weapon, knocking the wind out of him. The old man then kicked Link to the ground and batted the Master Sword from his hand. He gestured with his hand and the sacred blade flew into it.

 

“Identity unrecognized!” Came the mechanized female voice of Fi, the intelligent spirit of the blade as the hilt began to heat up in Xehanort's hand. “Oh really?” The old man cackled, and ice began to cover the hilt. Fi's scream could be heard across the town's square. “Now you will recognize your true master.” He told the sword.

 

He then turned his attention back to Link, “And now for my new, younger body. I think I will enjoy being a teenager again.” He said gleefully as he moved to stand over Link, his own keyblade in his right hand, and the Master Sword in his left. He raised the Master Sword with its point aimed at Link's heart and moved to drive it into Link's body.

 

But then there was a flash of movement and some large bulk got in the way as red blood began to spill from the wound which had been opened up in his majesty's chest. “Not my... not my...” The king struggled to finish his sentence, his blue eyes defiant against the evil man.

 

Xehanort felt a stab of pain in his own side and found the king's sword had found its own mark. The wound was painful, but not fatal. Xehanort cried out from the pain, raging at the muscular man who had gotten in his way.

 

“DADDY!!!” Zelda screamed at the sight of her father impaled upon the blade of evil's bane by an evil man. “NO!!!”

 

Careful Gunfire lit up around Xehanort as the Guardsmen who had been watching the whole thing finally took the shots they thought they could. They had held off because of fear of hitting his majesty, Link, or the children surrounding them, but they couldn't take the chance not to now. But it was to no avail, the bullets stopped of their own accord within inches of Xehanort, and none of them touched him.

 

Xehanort unsheathed the sword from the King's chest and slid his majesty's body onto the ground next to the Hero's form, Link tried to get up, to roll over, to do anything, but he couldn't, he was pinned by some unseen force. The life drained out of the king's eyes as he lay there bleeding on the ground, and then he exhaled his last breath.

 

“Noble, but useless.” Xehanort said slowly. “I will rip your soul from that body and cast it into oblivion, boy. Then it will become the new vessel for my own dark soul, and with it I shall awaken and spread the darkness across all worlds!”

 

Once again, Xehanort raised the Master Sword and began its downward plunge into Link's immobilized form. And then it was blocked again by the flash of something gold. A golden key shaped weapon stood between Xehanort and his prey.

 

“Not today, Xehanort. It's over!” Mickey shouted as he went on the attack against his taller opponent.

 

“It is for you, mouse!” Xehanort shouted back as he wielded the two blades against the four foot swordsmouse. Then he felt the sting of pure light hit his shoulder. “What is this?!” he cried out in pain. And then he looked up. He then experienced an emotion he hadn't felt in a long time. It was pure terror.

 

Standing over Link's form was the form of a young woman with pointed ears, long hair that seemed to be made of pure, golden, radiant light. In the twilight of dawn, she shone like a new born sun. Her eyes, completely filled with radiant light were filled with tears of sunlight, and in her hands was a golden bow with an arrow knocked and drawn and aimed directly at him.

 

Beneath her protective stance, Link couldn't believe what he was saying, “The rules, Zelda...” he said weakly, “We can't... You can't interfere like this... Not like this....”

 

The second arrow was let fly, and a third one was knocked. Xehanort couldn't stop the arrow as it hit him in the chest and dropped him to his knees. “No!” He screamed. “I will not be denied! All things must return to the darkness!” He shouted. Another arrow struck him, and a fourth was knocked and the bow was drawn again.

 

“I have what I came for,” he said in defeat. He crossed the two weapons in his hands and disappeared in a great plume of smoke.

 

Zelda lowered her bow and arrow, tears of light falling to the ground as she knelt over the body of her fallen father. “I can't...” She whimpered. “I can't bring you back daddy, I'm sorry. I've already gone too far.” She wept bitterly.

 

“You... you broke the rules.” Link said, still barely able to rise. “We have... we have to do this as mortals.” he said weakly.

 

Mickey's mouth had been hanging open as he gazed upon the wonderful, beautiful angel of light before him, his hands hanging down at his side, the end of the keyblade resting on the ground. He had never seen anything, or anyone more radiant and beautiful as this... as this goddess was in all of his life. It broke his heart bitterly to see her in pain or upset, and it made him angry that once again Xehanort had hurt good people. He finally heard Link's whispered protests and snapped himself out of it. He ran to the fallen Hero's side to give him whatever aid he could. “I'm sorry pal,” he said sincerely, “I should have reacted sooner. I was across the town square with some of the children telling them some of my own stories.”

 

Mickey looked his friend over, and didn't like what he saw. In the middle of Link's stomach was a sickly dark bruise that seemed to ooze darkness like a poison trying to infect Link's body. “Uh, your highness, uh, no that's not right... your gloriousness... uh, oh, Zelda!” He called out to the light filled princess.

 

Zelda looked up to see who was calling her and saw the funny looking large black mouse waving her over to her fallen beloved. She wiped her eyes on the sleeve of her blouse, and stood up. As she did she looked upon the faces of everyone in the square. Television cameras which had been set up around the square to televise anything of importance that went on or needed to be addressed to the nation were now pointed at her. Children were crying in fear. Those adults that were in the square were on their knees in adoration, their faces bowed low to the ground in humility. I didn't want any of this, she thought to herself. I never wanted any of this. She could feel the energy of their belief in her flowing into her being. She hadn't fully ascended, but had called upon all the power she could while remaining in the physical world, and it was growing by the second as every person in the kingdom who was watching the television at that moment fed her power with their faith. She could hear the terrified reporter trying to do his job while showing the proper reverence for his goddess, “...the Lady Hylia has just manifested herself in full glory and driven off the unknown sorcerer that felled the Hero of Hyrule...” This has to be stopped, she thought to herself. It all has to be stopped. Xehanort, me, all of it.

 

She went to Link's side and saw what the mouse had seen. It was a sliver of darkness that was feeding on the horrors of darkness that had built up within the soul of her beloved over the eons of their struggles. She could see into his very being and see it slowly poisoning his soul as he tried valiantly to fight it off. She kissed her finger and touched it to his lips saying, “Sleep love, rest.” And Link fell completely unconscious. “It's time for the princess to save the Hero and the kingdom.” She smiled sadly at the thought.

 

“Is he going to be okay?” Mickey asked worried. “That looks really bad.”

 

“He's going to sleep now so he can focus on his fight within. He'll need all his energy to conquer the living nightmares.” She said, her voice taking on a resonance of power. “The source of the poison of darkness must be destroyed. Will you help me, friend?” She asked the mouse.

 

“Of course, princess. Let's end this once and for all.” Mickey said with determination.

 

“Then come with me. He knew about the Master Sword, there's only one place he now needs to go.” She took his four fingered hand in her own radiant slender feminine one.

 

“Where are we going?” Mickey asked.

 

“The Temple of Time, little mouse. But first, we need to pick up a very special weapon that my friends from Atlantis have created for us.” Zelda told him. She held his hand tight, and the two of them disappeared from the square in a flash of light.

 


	39. Chapter 39

Chapter 39

 

It was so quiet in the war room that one could have heard a pin drop as all eyes were on the monitors which had been tied into the closed circuit cameras in the Old Castle Town square. Daniel and Bill had been woken up to join Shepherd in the military command center. The Hylian officers in the room stared with awe and wonder at the live video feed, a few had gotten down on their knees in prayer and devotion.

 

“My god,” Daniel said stunned at what he was witnessing, “she's broken the rules.”

 

“What do you mean broken the rules?” Bill asked.

 

“It's part of the conditions for their rebirth. They can't, uh, they can't use any of their powers they had as ascended beings to intervene in mortal affairs.” Daniel told him. “They can't do anything a normal Hylian can't do.”

 

“Wow. I didn't even think she could if she wanted to. So, you mean to tell me both she and Link could have done this the entire time if they had wanted to?” Bill asked.

 

“I didn't think so either, but I guess we were both wrong.” Daniel said slowly, thinking it through.

 

Shepherd stared at the monitor until he saw the goddess and the mouse disappear. “Well, it's out of our hands now. We've got our own part of the fight to worry about.” He said, his eyes on the radar screens. He looked at the clock on the wall. “It's almost six. The sun is rising. Dammit McKay, where are you?”

 

On the screens in front of him the blips which represented the enemy gyrocopters were already well past the coastal mountains and were now over the Field. Friendly Royal Guard aircraft had already been launched and were now engaged with them but too many were breaking through, they would be overhead within minutes.

 

“Hyrule Field to Supreme Command!” Came a call over the radio. Shepherd answered it, “General Shepherd of Supreme Command, go ahead Hyrule Field.” He knew what the report would be, he thought. There would be enemy soldiers landing and engaging their troops.

 

“General sir, half of the gyrocopters have broken off, and are heading south. Half are heading north towards Castleton. There has been no landing in the Field. I repeat, there has been no landing in the Field.” The soldier said.

 

Shepherd looked towards the radar map. Sure enough, the hostiles had broken into two groups, but nothing had dropped in Hyrule Field. Where were the southern group heading? He checked the maps and mentally plotted out a map. They were heading to Faron Province. Why would they be heading the Faron Province? There's nothing there but a few small towns and the Great Forests. And what's in the Great Forests? He asked himself. “The Sacred Grove. They're headed for the Sacred Grove.” Why hadn't he figured on that? He cursed himself.

 

“Copy that, Hyrule Field. Pack up everything you can and get down to the Faron Woods immediately. The coordinates are...” he checked his numbers, “Latitude one niner point four two three, Longitude minus niner niner point one two three. Relocate immediately.”

 

“Confirm those coordinates, command? Those are in the middle of Faron Woods.” The officer asked in confusion.

 

“Coordinates confirmed. There's a command post there. It's the only target that makes sense. Relocate immediately.” Shepherd told him.

 

“Understood, command. Orders confirmed.” The soldier said, then clicked off.

 

Shepherd then turned his attention back to the blips on the screen that were heading straight for them. “Come on, Rodney. Any time now would be good.” He told the screen.

 

* * *

 

Rodney was up on a ladder trying to connect his last crystal. After confirming with the other two men, it was almost complete. The sun had emerged from behind the eastern mountains. “Okay, this is the last one,” He said into the two way radio. He then connected the power and the blue crystal glowed. He was exhausted, but the system was in place. He could hear the loud hum of rotor winged aircraft approaching the city. “Okay, Phil, Afredo, it's time for you to do your stuff!” He said. The radio went dead, as he waited, hoping that their idea worked as the gyrocopters came within sight. They were huge. “Oh crap.” Rodney exclaimed as he saw the enemy bombers.

 

From that distance they looked like flying triangles with spinning circles where the three angles formed corners. There were still at least a dozen of them even after meeting up with their own air forces and the anti-aircraft artillery on the coast.

 

They came closer and closer, and grew larger and larger in the sky. Rodney hurried down the ladder and moved across the street from the street lamp he had just modified. He waved to his vehicle driver to get over and join him. He yelled into the radio again. “Any time now!”

 

Overhead, he could see underneath the bombers doors opening. Then objects started to fall from the aircraft. “It's not going to work!” Rodney cried out covering his head, waiting for the explosions to start.

 

“Sir, look!” The driver said, pointing up in amazement. All around them the streetlamps glowed brightly with a blue energy and it grew bigger and bigger until they all connected, and the energy field kept expanding downwards towards the street and quickly skywards higher and higher until from all around the city the energy met at a point over it as a huge blue dome of protective energy.

 

The objects which fell from the aircraft exploded harmlessly against the blue shield in a brilliant display one right after the other. It was spectacular as the bombers continuously released their payloads in frustration trying to break through the impermeable shield energy.

 

“What magic is that?” The driver asked. “I've never seen anything so brilliant and beautiful.”

 

“That my friend, is a whole lot of Nayru's love.” Rodney said, a big smile on his face.

 

“It certainly is,” The driver said, kneeling down, his head bowed, he traced three triangles around his head and shoulders.

 

Rodney looked at him and then looked down at him, “What are you doing?”

 

“Giving thanks to my goddess for her protection over our city.” The driver said.

 

“Oh for goodness sakes...” Rodney began to protest, and then was going to start in about how they weren't gods but ascended beings, and worshiping them was stupid, and... “Oh forget it.” he gave up. “It worked flawlessly when it really shouldn't have. Maybe we did have a little bit of help.” He then looked to the sky and whispered so the driver couldn't hear him, “Thank you.”

 

* * *

 

“Get out of my way little cripple.” The injured old man told Talon. “You're standing in the way of the inevitable. All things come from darkness and to darkness all things return.” To Talon's horror, the old man wielded the Master Sword in his left hand, and a wicked looking key weapon in his right. Somehow he had activated the gateway and strode right through it much to Talon's surprise.

 

He had been trying to keep in contact with the palace over the events of the last day and hadn't slept for twenty four hours when he felt the man's evil enter his home and prison. He grabbed the sword Lady Malona had brought him. He had used it to retrain himself to fight with his right hand, though he never truly expected to need it. He strapped a shield to the stump of his left forearm and went to the entry hall.

 

“You are not welcome here. Leave now and no harm will come to you.” Talon boomed the challenge at him, his voice echoing off the halls of the chamber.

 

“Yes, that seems to be the general theme today, doesn't it?” The old man said as he moved forward.

 

Talon took in the whole appearance of his opponent. He could see blood dribbling from the man's side from what looked like a sword wound, and every movement seemed to cause him pain. Someone had already wounded him, Talon observed. Even then, he could tell the man would be a dangerous opponent, maybe even more so because of it. Talon raised his sword and shield into a fighting stance.

 

“Oh look, the little cripple is going to play the hero, how nice.” The old man said evilly.

 

“I'm not the hero,” Talon replied, “My father is the Hero. I'm just my father's son.” And he launched himself into an attack. The old man brought up his own blades to block it as Talon's steel blade came down hard at his head. Talon's leap carried him in a somersault over the man's head, and it forced him to spin around to face his opponent again. When he did he caught Talon's shield in his face, dazing him as he cried out, his nose bleeding profusely.

 

The old man lashed out in a rage, swinging his two swords with a practiced skill, beating Talon back towards the gateway. Talon spun and rolled around the old man slashing at his back where the old man caught it with his wicked black key weapon. “Oh, you don't like that direction, do you?” The old man taunted as he turned to face the Hylian Sage again.

 

“On the contrary, it has a lovely view. Allow me to show you!” He said as he started in again, trying to drive the old man back the way he came across the marble floor. The old man was breathing hard, Talon could tell. The combat was wearing him down. “Leave this Temple!” He ordered him.

 

“No, I think it is you who will leave!” The old man shouted in replied, and he gestured with one of his swords towards Talon, swinging it towards the gateway. Talon's body was flung towards the door that he knew would be lethal to him if he crossed the threshold. He cried out to his Lady in fear and desperation, “Hylia, save me!”

 

The old man turned his back to the doomed man and, in pain and becoming exhausted from the tremendous exertion his challengers were placing on him, moved slowly toward the pedestal, the final keyhole which would unlock the realm he had been searching for all of his life, “The true Kingdom Hearts awaits me.”

 

Talon flew threw the air towards the door, and then was stopped in mid-air just inches from the doorway. An enraged young woman's voice cried out, “NO MORE OF MY FAMILY WILL YOU HARM!”

 

Thunder boomed and echoed in the great chamber, and the old man was forced to turn and look to see what was happening. What he saw filled his heart with terror once again.

 

“What?” Talon asked in confusion as he hung suspended in the air. “Who?”

 

He was set gently on his feet, and his eyes gazed on a shining, radiant female form as they were raised from the floor to look into her beautiful, light filled face. “My Lady!” He exclaimed, dropping to one knee. She shone like the sun, glorious with light radiating from ever part of her form.

 

She raised him to his feet again, saying, “Rise and take this, my champion.” The beautiful, musical voice of the princess he had watched grow up resonated with power like the thunder of a raging storm. She placed in his right hand a sharpened sword with a red jewel embedded in the cross piece of the hilt. “Touch the jewel.” She instructed, he did so with his thumb, and it began to glow red. She gestured with her hands and a golden bow appeared from nowhere resting in them. A quiver of arrows shining brilliantly with light adorned her back. “Now, my champions,” she addressed Talon and the companion she traveled with, a four foot black and tan mouse wielding a sword fashioned in the shape of a key, “Let us finish this.”

 

* * *

 

The command post at the entry gate of the Sacred Grove in Faron Woods had been on alert for the past twenty four hours, and had doubled their patrols. The nervous, gray uniformed men kept their assault weapons at the ready, and all the gun emplacements along the fence were constantly manned. As well trained as the men were, few if any of them had ever seen true combat in their lifetimes. All eyes were on the clearing on the other side of the fence.

 

Soon they heard the hum of the rotor winged aircraft, but couldn't see them. They scanned the skies with their binoculars trying to see which direction the enemy would be coming from. Captain Jovani was at the front gate with his men after receiving the heads up from General Shepherd.

 

“Any contacts sighted yet?” He called out to his spotters.

 

“No contacts yet, sir!” Came the calls back.

 

Then, on the other end of the clearing, he saw movement in the trees and foliage. “Contacts sighted!” He called out.

 

Out of the brush came dozens of wild blue trolls, males, females, and females clutching little ones running as if for their lives. The lanky humanoid creatures were normally just curious nuisances which had to be driven off. Then he began to observe them, and realized that their intelligence was only a little higher than that of a dog's. Not really wanting to slaughter them for just existing, over time, Jovani began to order his men to just scare them off with warning shots, and it usually worked pretty well.

 

This time though Jovani could see the panic in their eyes. They were terrified. Behind the trolls came wild octoroks also trying to get away from something. “Hold your fire!” He called out. It wasn't right to shoot them for trying to run for their lives. The trolls and octoroks ran towards the fence and hit it, the trolls pounding on it with their fists screaming at them with unintelligible sounds. The octoroks veered to the sides of the fence and ran for the nearest underbrush they could find. The guardsmen looked from screaming troll to screaming troll unsure of what to do, their fingers on the triggers of their weapons. “Let them go!” Jovani called out again. The trolls finally understood they weren't getting behind the fence, and ran in the direction the octoroks took, looking in terror back towards the woods they had just come out of as they ran. “Let them go!” He called out again, “All eyes on the clearing, weapons hot!” Around him he could hear the sounds of weapons being cocked and safeties being taken off.

 

On the other side of the clearing, shots began to ring out and strike the sides of the fence and the gun towers. “Take cover!” Jovani shouted. “Don't fire until you can see them!”

 

More gunfire came from the woods on the other side of the clearing, and then helmeted, blue uniformed men began to appear crawling across the ground, their own weapons in front of them. They set themselves up and began to spray the fence line with machine gun fire.

 

“Open fire!” Jovani called out, and the fence line was ablaze with machine guns as the royal guardsmen returned fire.

 

More enemy soldiers began to pour out of the woods as they established larger machine gun emplacements of their own, and Jovani began to see that they were going to be quickly outnumbered. Around him, his own men were getting caught by enemy fire as he continued to shoot. Great goddesses we're going to be overrun! He thought to himself.

 

Enemy mortars launched their explosive shells at the gun towers. One emplacement exploded as the guardsman station there was blown from his seat. The gray guardsmen continued to fight on but Jovani could see they were losing men. “Goddesses help us!” He prayed.

 

He then heard thunder coming from the woods to the south. “Now what?” He feared.

 

And then the magnificent forms of a dozen horses broke through the foliage and began trampling over the enemy soldiers on the ground with their hooves, their riders in gray firing their own weapons from horseback at whichever blue soldier they could target. The enemy soldiers were thrown into confusion, unable to react fast enough to the new, unexpected threat. The horsemen were so far behind the enemy's own emplacements that the blue uniformed men couldn't turn their own large guns fast enough before they were cut down.

 

“It's cavalry.” Jovani said in disbelief.

 

A cheer rose up from the men behind the fence and they regrouped themselves, taking careful aim so as not to hit their saviors on horseback. “Help them out!” Jovani called out.

 

More enemy soldiers continued to come from the woods and replace their fallen comrades. The horsemen continued to shoot until they began to run out of ammunition. And then, to Jovani's amazement, they drew their swords and shields and began hacking at the men on the ground they could reach, using their shields to deflect the enemy fire. “Protect the horses!” Jovani called out, and the men at the fence took careful aim at anyone who pointed their weapons at the horses, and that was just about everyone.

 

But the men on horseback were only a dozen, and the enemy soldiers recovered from their initial confusion, and they turned their weapons towards them. And they just kept coming out of the woods.

 

* * *

 

Xehanort turned to face his new attackers. The crippled Sage and the mouse moved to flank him on either side, assuming a fighting stance. The light filled woman drew her bow and aimed it, he knew, at his heart. Both blades in his hand, he knew he was in no shape to fight all three of them. He also knew his own forces would be engaged at the top of the canyon and should be down in the Grove to secure it for him shortly. He still had the chi-blade. He could afford to be patient a little while longer.

 

“We will finish this later,” he said, and then, crossing his blades he moved to relocate himself outside of the temple and behind the lines of his own forces at the top of the canyon.

 

Except he didn't go anywhere. He tried it again, but he remained in the same entry hall of the Temple. “What is happening?”

 

“This is the Temple of Time.” The cripple told him, seeing his confusion. “Time doesn't flow in here. It is always the same moment within the Temple, neither past nor future, but the ever present now. The only way back to normal time is through the gateway.”

 

I'm trapped! The realization broke over his conscious mind. And then pain struck him in the chest as another one of the blasted light arrows hit him. Then the mouse attacked him, and Xehanort caught his keyblade with his own as the cripple attempted to skewer him and was deflected by the chi-blade.

 

“Fools!” He shouted at them, “Even if you were to kill this body, I cannot be destroyed so easily! My possession of your so-called Sages, and your Hero will become complete! I will be more powerful than ever!”

 

He spun and attacked the cripple, who caught his blows on his shield. The mouse took advantage of this to strike him in the back with his own keyblade, and he howled in rage, sending a wave of darkness against the mouse throwing him against the wall. Another arrow hit him, and he fell to one knee.

 

I have to dispose of the light witch, Xehanort realized, and he moved to strike the girl, throwing a forceful wave of darkness at her. It hit her, but broke around her, and he threw another one. The cripple ran at him to block his way, shouting, “No!”

 

This cripple has annoyed me long enough. Xehanort thought to himself. He motioned with his right hand and his own keyblade disappeared, as he used the darkness to draw the cripple to him through the air and onto the waiting tip of the chi-blade. The cripple slid onto the blade easily as the sword passed through his right lung. He would take a long time to die from that wound. It would be painful and bloody, Xehanort was satisfied. And then pain took his own body into its grasp.

 

Xehanort looked down to find the cripple's own sword embedded in his chest. The red jewel in the cross piece shining brightly. “Go to oblivion, monster.” The cripple spat blood at him with his dying breath, flecks of crimson coming to his lips.

 

Xehanort began to laugh, expecting the release of his soul to fly to his chosen hosts, but then something went wrong. He felt himself being... erased. “What... is... this...!” He said, his voice dying. And then he just ceased to be.

 

Then what light there had been left Xehanort's eyes, and the lifeless corpse dropped to the ground, releasing Talon from his dark grip, his body still impaled by the Master Sword. The Sage hit the marble floor with a painful thud, blood flowing from his wound. He could feel himself dying as he lay there. “And now, I finally pay my debt in full, as is only just.” He said with pain.

 

And then the shining form of his goddess was by his side, smiling down at him, “No, my nephew,” she said gently, “finally, you have fully redeemed yourself.” She passed her radiant hand over his wound and, gripping the blue hilt, withdrew the sword from his body slowly and with care.

 

“My Lady,” he said, gasping, drowning in his own blood.

 

“My dear Sage,” she replied as she passed her other hand over his wound. The flesh and skin repaired itself, and his breathing became easy and natural. The pain ceased completely. “For what you have done here, for myself, and for all of Hyrule, I free you from your imprisonment.”

 

She then went over to the mouse who had been thrown against the wall. He lay unconscious on the floor, his head resting at an angle against the wall he had hit. The goddess knelt down and touched him on the head gently, and his eyes opened. “Zelda?” He asked. “What happened?”

 

“Xehanort has finally received the justice he deserved.” Zelda responded. “He will trouble no realm ever again.”

 

“Really?” Mickey asked. “It's over?”

 

“It's over.” She repeated softly, thinking about all that implied. “But now there are others that need my help. Stay here with Talon until my return.”

 

“Yes, ma'am.” The mouse replied.

 

* * *

 

Russel continued to hack and slash as hard and as fast as he could, but their were just too many of them. His horse, Xavier had been shot out from under him, and he had been forced to fight the enemy soldiers on foot with just his sword and shield. He let the anger and pain of the loss of his old friend to fuel his muscles as he cut through the enemy troops. Several of his other men had been forced on foot as well, and they fought back to back, shield each other from the hail of gunfire aimed at them, while the guardsmen from behind the fence across the clearing continued to support them with cover fire. But there were just too many, and Russel knew it.

 

So be it, he thought. I'll take as many of the eastern bastards with me as I can. And he continued to fight, exhausted though he was. The other men fought on, equally determined as well.

 

Then an explosion of light appeared over the battlefield of the clearing, forcing everyone, friend and foe alike to look upwards. It was as if the bright sun had come down from the sky and taken the form of a young woman, in her left hand was held a long bright sword with a shining sapphire hilt, hovering in the air above the battlefield. Lightning struck the ground around and underneath her, and the air was charged with unmistakable power.

 

“Soldiers of Hyrule, listen to me!” She cried out, and everyone stopped fighting in that instant as the murmur of her name passed along the lips of everyone who gazed on the sight. “Hylia!” The name was passed around reverently.

 

One enemy gunner though, looking upon the sight instead trained his weapon on her. He never got the chance to shoot however as a bolt of lightening flew from the sky and struck him. The blackened, burnt husk of his corpse dropped to the ground. Upon this sight, everyone, gray and blue alike dropped their weapons to the ground.

 

“You will cease this conflict immediately!” She cried out. “Eastern Hyrule, your leader is dead and destroyed. You have no reason left to fight. Return home.” She ordered, pointing east with the tip of the sword, indicating the direction she wanted them to go.

 

A confusion and a panic arose among the soldiers as they didn't know what to do. She pointed at the ground with the sword and more lightning exploded around the blue uniformed men. They backed up, and then began to run back into the woods, leaving their weapons behind.

 

The cavalrymen, to a man, all dropped to one knee in reverence, their swords driven into the ground in front of them before their goddess. Russel knelt his head in humility over the hilt of his sword.

 

The goddess then descended to the ground and went to the men who lay injured and bleeding, blue and gray uniforms alike, unable to rise, or retreat. As she passed between them, she placed her hands on each one and their wounds and injuries sealed themselves, and they were able to recover. The enemy soldiers, grateful to the goddess, got up and left after their comrades.

 

She then moved over the clearing towards the gate of the fence and passed through it. Seeing the injured and dying men on the ground, she passed among them as well, healing their wounds. The guard captain dropped to his knees before her in reverence.

 

The goddess said nothing more to anyone, but just looked sadly at the men who had died from the fighting, both the blue and the gray. When she was finished moving among the men whom she could heal, she vanished in a great burst of light.

 

“Holy goddess.” Captain Jovani whispered. And the battle was over.

 


	40. Chapter 40

Chapter 40

 

Talon breathed the sweet, fragrant air of the Sacred Grove deeply. This was his first act after stepping through the gateway from inside the Temple of Time. Beneath his boots, the hard, worn stones of the ruins crumbled a bit as he surveyed his surroundings. Overhead, the morning sun had risen to its full glory. Only a few clouds floated in the sky, and none of them sought to challenge its supremacy. Tears came to his eyes as he heard the song of the birds in woods surrounding the ancient ruins. “I'm free.” He said. Then the tears began to fall freely as the emotion of the moment overwhelmed him. “At long last, I'm free.”

 

Next to Talon stood the mouse who had fought at his side against the would be master of darkness. “It's a beautiful day.” The mouse said in wonder at the sight.

 

“It most certainly is, friend.” Talon said, trying to rein his tears back in. “It most certainly is.”

 

A third figure passed through the blue energy field of the gateway to stand beside them. The Princess Zelda also took a breath of the fresh air. Her light had faded, but not been completely extinguished. The power still waited inside of her, urging her to unleash it again.

 

“It's done.” She told the other two. Her voice had also returned to something a bit more normal for the young woman. “The Master Sword has been returned to her pedestal so that she may sleep once again.”

 

“And the god-killer, my Lady?” Talon asked. It was the first time he had used the name for the blade that had snuffed out the evil old man, but it felt fitting.

 

“It has been deactivated, and it too sleeps in a vault deep within the Temple.” Zelda replied. In truth she had buried it so deep within the recesses of the Temple it may never be found again.

 

“So what happens now?” He asked, feeling the warmth of the risen sun on his face.

 

“I meant what I said, nephew.” Zelda told him, seeing no reason to maintain any pretense any long about who she was, or what she knew. “You are free. You may go anywhere, or do anything you wish.” She then paused thoughtfully, “Only I ask that you consider one other task for me. A position I believe you to be uniquely qualified to fill.”

 

“I am always, and forever, at your service, my Lady.” Talon responded, wondering what this task might be, and waiting for his aunt and goddess to elaborate.

 

“I know, nephew. I know.” She told him. She then turned to address the mouse who seemed enraptured by the sight of Hyrule's natural beauty. “I know you have already helped us so much, your majesty,” she said, using the title she knew he had purposely avoided telling them, “but I would humbly ask something further from you as well.”

 

“Sure, what?” Mickey replied.

 

“There are six other Sages still trapped within their own Temples, and I know there are other heartless monsters loose within the ancient structures. I would ask for your help in clearing them and freeing the Sages from their self-imprisonment. Without your mastery of your keyblade, I'm afraid the teams I send to release them won't be able to open the doors to free them.” Zelda explained.

 

“Sure, but why can't you just go and free them? You've certainly got the power to do it.” Mickey asked in confusion.

 

“It's because of the power I have assumed that I can go no further with it. Already there have been unintended consequences, and I must answer to the Others for what I have taken upon myself. I'm afraid by the time I do, I will be unable to assist you.” She explained with a heaviness in her voice, like the weight of the world sat on her shoulders.

 

“Surely you aren't leaving us again, my Lady?” Talon asked, fearful of the thought. “Hyrule still needs you, and the Hero! Who will guide us?”

 

“I don't know.” She answered both questions sadly.

 

Mickey turned this new information over in his mind and then said solemnly, “You can count on me, your highness.”

 

“Thank you, your majesty.” She replied. She then said, “Would you both accompany me back to the Castle? I'm afraid it will have to be the long way this time.”

 

“Yes.” Talon answered, realizing that for the first time in two hundred years he was going home. “Yes, of course I will go with you.”

 

“And I will too!” Mickey joined in.

 

The three then set off on foot to find their way back to the top.

 

* * *

 

Link's eyes blinked slowly open. He was laying on a hospital bed, and his clothes had been replaced with a white hospital gown. His lower half had been covered over with a sheet and blanket. In his right arm had been inserted a needle connected to a long thin line which was full of a red fluid dripping from a bag which had been hung next to the bed.

 

“What happened?” He asked.

 

“Hey! You're awake!” Came a familiar voice as two men he recognized came over from where he had been sitting. “How're you feeling?” Bill Lee asked. Next to him stood the bespectacled, clean shaven face of Daniel Jackson. “Feeling better?” Jackson asked.

 

“Yeah,” Link said, a little unsteadily. “Yeah, I think so. What happened?” He asked again, “I remember I was fighting Xehanort, and then I got hit in the stomach, and then...” His eyes went wide, “Oh no. I remember Zelda. Where is she? What did she do? Is she alright?” Panic came to his voice.

 

“Just calm down a minute,” Daniel told him. “As far as we know she's fine.” He said, not sure of how much to tell him. But at least that was the truth as much as he knew.

 

“She broke the rules.” Link said gravely. “We weren't to interfere as anything other than ordinary mortals. That was the condition for our rebirth. We can't influence their beliefs, or rule them by force.”

 

“I don't think either you or she have ever really been ordinary mortals, have you?” Daniel observed.

 

“We had to continue to be able to ascend. We couldn't take the chance of not being able to return again when Hyrule needed us. But the conditions of our rebirth were that we were not permitted to live as anything other than mortals, no matter what happened. And everyone saw her, didn't they?” Link asked, knowing the answer.

 

“Yeah, everyone saw her.” Daniel said, knowing intimately why that was a cause for concern. “It was televised across the nation.”

 

“Why did she do it?” Link asked.

 

“She watched her father be killed, and then Xehanort announced that he was going to take your body and send your soul into oblivion.” Daniel answered. “I think that would be enough to send anyone over the edge. She reacted out of fear for you.”

 

“It was her mama bear instincts.” Bill added.

 

Link looked at him in confusion, not understanding the reference. Daniel also looked at him, waiting for an explanation.

 

“Don't you know?” Bill asked. “The most dangerous animal in a forest on Earth is a mother bear when something is threatening her cubs. The two people Zelda loved most in the world were being hurt and she reacted with a mother's instinct if you will.”

 

“I can buy that logic.” Daniel said in agreement.

 

“But it's going to cost her.” Link said. “It's going to cost her so much.”

 

“I know.” Daniel said from experience. “No good deed goes unpunished by the Others.”

 

* * *

 

When Zelda, Talon, and Mickey reached the top of the canyon a couple of hours later, they were met by Guardsmen still trying to assess the damage and what had happened. The minute they saw their Princess being escorted by the unknown, one handed man who resembled the Hero, and the four foot mouse, they immediately stopped what they were doing, and dropped to their knees in obeisance. It made Zelda increasingly uncomfortable and she tried to draw in the light which was emanating from her form even more.

 

“My Lady,” The Guard Captain ran up to her, and knelt before her, “words cannot express our gratitude at what you have done for my men and I,” he started to say, but she held up her hand, and he was silent. She then raised him to his feet, and said, “My companions and I need transportation to Castleton. Would you be so kind as to provide a vehicle with a driver?”

 

“Of course, my Lady, at once. I must stay here and oversee the post but I'm sure I can find a volunteer...” Captain Jovani told her, looking around at the available men.

 

Off to one side, on one knee with everyone else, was the group of cavalrymen who had come to their aid. Jovani had been amazed that it was the retired unit sent to them from Ordonville who had fought so valiantly and without thought for their own safety. They had earned their rest, he thought, and he began to look elsewhere, but he had caught the eye of their commanding officer, a lieutenant captain that he had just learned had been herding goats, and raising horses for the past twenty years.

 

“Captain?” The horseman called out, having overheard the conversation. “If the Lady needs a ride, I'll drive her. I need to go to Castleton anyway. One of your men just told me my boy was hurt, and I need to see to him.”

 

Captain Jovani turned to the Princess and asked, “Will that be sufficient, my Lady?”

 

Zelda stiffened at his constant use of the deified title instead of “your highness.” She answered, “yes, Captain, that will be more than sufficient.” She then called the cavalryman over to her.

 

The lieutenant captain rose and moved to stand in front of her, “Lieutenant Captain Russel Swordsmith, your highness, at your disposal.”

 

The Princess was shocked as she recognized the man's name, “So, your son who's been injured...?” She asked, not needing to finish her sentence as she knew to whom he referred.

 

“Yes, your highness. Unless I've read you completely wrong, I think we'll both be wanting to look in on him.” Russel responded.

 

“Indeed we will, Captain. And please, call me Zelda.” She said to the man who was, in some way she realized, family to her.

 

He seemed hesitant at this, but then nodded, “Link always called me Uncle Russel.” He said.

 

“Then so will I, Uncle Russel.” She told him. “Captain, my uncle and I need a vehicle.” She said with authority.

 

“Uh... Of course. Right away, my Lady.” Captain Jovani said, and then started barking orders to have an undamaged vehicle prepped and ready for them.

 

“Who're your friends, Zelda?” Russel asked, trying out the name.

 

“Uncle Russel, this is Mickey Mouse, a king from another world.” She said gesturing to the mouse next to her. He extended his gloved hand to shake the horseman's, which Russel took willingly. And this, she turned to Talon, “Is Talon, the Sage of Time, my nephew.”

 

“Your nephew?” Russel asked in confusion at the obviously older man and knowing the Princess was an only child, thrusting his own hand out.”Has anyone told you you look a lot like my foster son?” He asked the Sage.

 

“Yeah,” Talon responded, repressing a smile, “I used to get that a lot. I think we're going to have an interesting conversation on the way to Castleton.”

 

“Something tells me you're right.” Russel told him.

 

* * *

 

General Shepherd was overseeing the aftermath of the bombing and invasion in the war room. With the king dead, Link in the hospital, and Zelda who knows where, that left Shepherd to run the kingdom in their place until Zelda turned up again. He had been watching the radar screens and fielding reports, radio calls, and phone calls all that morning, and the reports he had been getting were, had he been anywhere else in any other position, unbelievable. As it was, he was still having a hard time believing what his own eyes had seen on the video monitors from earlier that morning, and he had personally known at least two ascended women on an, um, intimate basis.

 

“General, sir, we have another incoming call from the Sacred Grove,” One of his underlings told him.

 

“What's the report?” He asked.

 

“The Princess is alive and well and is on her way to Castleton. She's being escorted by the Sage of Time, a retired cavalry Guardsman, and... uh... a four foot mouse, sir.” He told him, not sure if he heard right.

 

Shepherd saw the look on the man's face and said, “That's okay, captain, I have a pretty good idea of who the mouse is. He's one of ours.” Boy, that's a weird thought, Shepherd thought to himself.

 

“Yes, sir.” The captain said uncertainly, looking at his General in a funny manner. “Their E.T.A. is around eleven o'clock or so.”

 

“Understood.” Shepherd said. “Any news from the hospital on the Hero's condition?” He asked. He hadn't had the chance to go and check on Link personally. It was one of the things he really hated about being the top guy in charge.

 

“Yes, sir. He's awake and responsive.” The captain replied. His general had ordered him to have the hospital contact them directly with updates on Link's condition. “Dr. Lee and Dr. Jackson are with him now.”

 

“Good.” He said. “Any word from Dr. McKay?” He hadn't heard anything from Rodney since the blue energy shield had gone up and stayed up. With the bombers gone, and he confirmed they were off of the radar, it now needed to come down so life could somewhat return to normal in the capital.

 

“Not yet sir.” The captain responded. “Should I try radioing for him again?”

 

“Yeah, go ahead.” Shepherd said. Come on Rodney, I need the shield down now. He thought.

 

“Sir, satellites and radar confirm, all hostile aircraft have left our airspace. Eastern Field ground forces report that all enemy ground forces have surrendered and laid down their weapons.” Another underling piped up.

 

“Good. Treat them as prisoners of war.” Shepherd ordered. “Have them contained, but unmolested. Food, water, and appropriate housing until we can arrange for their return to their own government. They're just soldiers who were following orders.” He told them.

 

“Right away, sir.” The underling responded, and then started relaying the orders.

 

“Sir, I've just received a report from Dr. McKay.” The previous captain told him.

 

“Go ahead.” Shepherd said.

 

“He says everything's fine, they're just working on taking down the shield now. It's proving to be more energetic than they originally predicted.” The captain relayed the message.

 

What's that supposed to mean? Shepherd wondered. “How long until it comes down?” He asked.

 

The captain asked over the radio and then received a response. “They don't know sir, they're working on cutting the power to it, but it's being fed by two hundred connections to the power grid. They're having to disable each one.”

 

“Fair enough.” Shepherd said. “Tell him to make sure that it's down before eleven. The Princess is going to need to be able to get into the palace.”

 

“Yes, sir. I'll relay that.” The captain said, and then held the head-phones away from his ears as Dr. McKay responded in a testy manner. “He says he'll do what he can, sir.” The captain relayed.

 

“Good.” Shepherd responded. “Very good.”

 

* * *

 

The Princess and her escort saw the massive blue energy shield from a distance as they approached Castleton along the highway in their loaned gray steam powered R.H.M.G patrol truck. “What is that?” Russel asked.

 

“It looks like Nayru's love, but on a scale I've never seen before.” Talon said in awe. “I hope it comes down before we get into the city, or else we're going to be left on the outside.”

 

Just then the energy shield began to collapse downwards. “Ask and you will receive.” Russel said.

 

* * *

 

Link was still in his hospital bed when he received the new visitors. He was sitting up talking with Daniel and Bill when Zelda and his Uncle Russel walked through the doorway.

 

His uncle Russel didn't say and word when he saw him, but the look on his face conveyed a hundred emotions that were running through him. He then went over to the side of the bed and embraced his foster son as tightly as he felt he could. “You okay, son?” He asked.

 

“Yeah, I'm okay Uncle Russel.” Link said in response, returning the embrace, glad for the older man's presence. “I'm okay.”

 

“Why does it seem like I'm always picking you up from the hospital lately?” Russel joked with him.

 

Link had no answer except, “How should I know? I'm just a dumb high school kid.”

 

Russel let the young man go, and then Link asked, “Are Colin and Aunt Tara okay?”

 

“They're fine. They're under good protection right now. Though your aunt has been worried sick about you, Colin too. They going to let you come home any time soon, son?” Russel asked, fearing what his answer might be, and not because of any obvious injury.

 

“The doctors want me in here for at least the next twenty four hours, and then I'm free to go. As for after that...” Link took a deep breath and let it out, “I need to see how things work out.” He looked at Zelda when he said it.

 

“Well, if it's okay with the powers that be, I'll be in town until you know what you're doing. I'll be right here for you, son, whatever your decision.” Russel told him.

 

“You are free to remain in Castleton as long as you wish.” Zelda told him. “I'll have rooms prepared for you in the palace as a visiting member of the royal family. You won't need to worry about anything you need for as long as you're here. I'll see to it personally.”

 

“That's very kind, Zelda.” Russel said by way of gratitude.

 

“Uh, may I speak with her highness alone?” Link asked of the other men who were there.

 

“Of course.” They all straightened up. “We'll be just outside.” Russel said, and the three men left the hospital room, and closed the door behind them.

 

“You're still glowing.” Link said to her sadly.

 

She blushed, and the shimmer which had been around her faded even more, but still wouldn't go out completely. “I'm sorry. I just... I just couldn't help it. I barely knew what I was doing until I let the first arrow fly. After that I tried to control it, but there was so much that needed to be set to right, and that man was going to do so much worse than kill you. I couldn't bear to lose you, not forever.” Her voice pleaded with him for his understanding.

 

She looked into his eyes and found love there; love, compassion, and even understanding, but also sadness. He took her hands into his own. “I know. But we both know what this might mean. It changes everything for the both of us. It cannot continue in the same way. You know that. They won't let it. All of Hyrule saw it and put their faith in you. You know that.”

 

“I know it.” She said, feeling badly because of it. “I could feel it. I can still feel it. It's like a flood that I can't turn off. All those people looking to me to save them, to guide them. It was easier when I wasn't physically here among them.”

 

“I know.” He replied, knowing exactly what she meant. “You can't stay. _We_ can't stay. Not in these roles at least. It's too much of a temptation.”

 

“Where would we go?” She asked. “Where could we go?”

 

“We'll find somewhere. Somewhere far from Castleton. I promise. But there's one more thing.” Link told her.

 

“What's that?” She asked, worried about what new trouble might have arisen.

 

“We can't leave Castleton until we do so properly, as man and wife once more. I won't lose you to anyone or anything ever again. We're both legally adults now in this life. No one can say no.” He told her resolutely. “No matter what punishment the Others inflict on us. And it will be on _us_ ,” he emphasized the word, “because whatever they do to you, they're going to have to do to me too. I love you.”

 

“I love you, too.” She returned, and leaned over to kiss her Hero.

 

* * *

 

After she left Link in the hospital, Zelda has been called down to view the body of her father in the hospital's morgue. It was almost more than she could bear. She knew she had the power to call him back from death, but she also knew that once she started down that road, there was no turning back. Once done, she fled the hospital and took solace in her beloved castle gardens. In her hands was an ancient harp which she strummed sadly, as heavy thoughts filled her heart. The melancholy tune which resulted sounded beautiful and dark through the multitude of beautiful trees, topiaries, and flowers.

 

“May I join you?” Asked an older woman's voice. Zelda stopped playing and looked up to see a middle aged reflection of her own features. Deep blue eyes, golden blond hair streaked with silver, high cheekbones; the lady was a handsome woman wrapped in a blue dress.

 

“Mother.” Zelda said. “Of course.” She recognized the older woman from eons past. “I was expecting you at some point.”

 

The older woman sat down next to her on the bench. “It really is very lovely here.” She said. “And peaceful.” She looked down at the golden harp, “I'm glad it's still in good condition. It was my favorite instrument when I was your age, and you play so beautifully.”

 

“Thank you, mother.” Zelda said.

 

“You know why I've come?” Nayru asked. “Hylia my daughter, first, I could not be more proud of you, for everything you've done and sacrificed for this world; you and Copulus.”

 

“Thank you, mother.” Zelda answered, awaiting with fear what came next.

 

“But you must know that there are consequences for the actions you've taken. You've interfered in a way that will set these people back in their own spiritual development as they look to you and not their own practice of faith to deliver them from every bad circumstance which comes their way. There will always be some new evil to threaten them, and they must learn to counter it themselves, whether it be a person, some natural disaster, or a faulty idea like that racist nonsense.” Nayru told her gravely. “They have to be allowed to make their own mistakes and learn from them or they will never grow and reach ascension on their own. Are you going to help every one of them join us? Every one of them that believes in you? We both know that you can't. It's not possible, and what happens if you make a mistake and allow another Demise or that Xehanort fellow?”

 

“He was going to destroy Link's soul.” Zelda said weakly. “I was going to lose him forever.”

 

“I know. Din, Farore, and I were discussing the situation, and your penance.” Nayru told her.

 

“And what was your decision, mother?” Zelda asked.

 

Nayru looked at her with as much motherly compassion as she could muster as she said, “It was our decision that both you and Copulus should be made completely mortal. Your powers are stripped from you. You will be denied ascension again on your own. When the time comes, we will decide if the two of you shall rejoin us again or not, depending.”

 

The light faded completely around Zelda, and within herself she could feel the energy and power which had been transferred to her bleeding away. She felt drained and exhausted. She then asked, “Depending on what?”

 

“Depending on how well you stay out of their affairs, and live your own lives in peace.” Nayru told her. “Don't see this as a punishment, my daughter.” She said. “See it as a chance for the life that neither of you have been able to have for eons.”

 

Zelda considered this, and all the tension and stress she had been feeling finally broke within her. She started smiling, and then she started giggling, and then she started laughing uncontrollably.

 

“Oh, my dear, whatever are you laughing for?” Nayru asked her, worried.

 

“I don't know.” Zelda responded between a fit of giggles. “I just... I just realized that it was the best punishment you've ever given me, mother.” Tears flowed from her eyes, but they weren't tears of sadness. She then asked, “Will I see you again? Will Link see Farore?”

 

“We're always watching, my daughter. And who knows? Perhaps we may visit you from time to time, especially if you give us grandchildren again.” Nayru answered.

 

“Oh,” Zelda remembered, “Will you come to our wedding?”

 

“We will always be watching you, my daughter. We will always be watching you.” The older woman said smiling. And then she was gone, dissolved into a blue mist of light.

 

* * *

 

It was later in the evening when Link received a knock at his hospital room door. He had been watching the news on the television, but it was full of constant replays of the day's events, especially the events which occurred around dawn. He had tried changing the channel, but it was no use. It was on every channel, being covered and commented on by a score of different opinions.

 

He watched his failure repeatedly, and Zelda's “divine manifestation,” constantly wondering if there was something else he could have done to stop the evil man right then and there. Words couldn't describe his emotions watching the king lunge in front of him, taking the blade that was meant for his own heart. He had failed the king he was there to protect, needing protection himself. He had failed Zelda, and she had broken the rules to save his very soul, threatening her own eternal soul. He had failed Hyrule being unable to continue the fight.

 

He switched off the television with the remote control, and said, “Come in.” He expected it to be General Shepherd, or perhaps his Uncle Russel again, but the face that greeted him was not who he expected at all. It had been two hundred years, and his other memory of the man was still as fresh as the day he had been imprisoned for his crimes. It made it no better to remember that he had been his own son. But, he remembered, that was then, in the past.

 

“I was told you were still awake. I wanted to see you. I hope that it wasn't inappropriate.” Talon said awkwardly, not really knowing what to say to Link, but feeling like he needed to be there anyways.

 

“No, I was just... I wasn't doing anything important.” He said in response. The man was physically eight years older than himself, but their connection ran deep as the memories of a little red haired boy came coursing through Link's mind. He remembered the first sword he had pressed into that little boy's left hand. The hand that this man no longer had.

 

“The doctors tell me that they're letting you go tomorrow.” Talon said, not sure of what to say or how to say it. “They tell me you'll be able to return to the palace fully healed.”

 

“Yeah,” Link said, “They told me that too.”

 

“Well, I just wanted to... I just wanted to... see how you were doing.” Talon said, and then he made a move for the door.

 

“Talon.” Link said, stopping him from leaving. “Zelda told me what you did in the Temple.”

 

“She did?” Talon asked.

 

“She said you sacrificed yourself to destroy Xehanort, and would have died if she hadn't prevented it. I'm glad she did.” Link told him.

 

“Thank you.” Talon said, unsure of what else to say or how to feel.

 

“You redeemed yourself today, son.” Link said, adopting a paternal tone of voice he hadn't used in a very long time. “You succeeded where I failed.” He said with a hint of bitterness in his voice, but then he said sincerely, “I'm proud of the man you've become.”

 

Centuries of pent up emotions overwhelmed Talon, and he began to weep, “Father...” He began to say, but couldn't finish. Link held out his arms while he sat on his hospital bed, and Talon knelt down and into his seventeen year old father's embrace. “I'm proud of you, my son.” Link repeated. “Your brother and mother would be too.”

 

* * *

 

Two days later, after Link had been discharged from the hospital, and things began to settle back down to normal, the Princess held a press conference at the entry to the palace, where she asked Talon and Link, who chose to wear his brown denim pants and green Ordonville High School pullover instead of the Hero's tunic, to attend. She had chosen to stay out of the public eye until that point in time until she was sure everything was in place.

 

Her light had completely faded, and she was once more just a teenage princess. She walked up to the podium filled with microphones and began to speak. She had struggled to find the right words, the right things to say to them, the right way to explain everything that had happened and that was going to happen, and then finally she settled on just one thing; the truth, whether they would accept it or not.

 

“Good afternoon,” she began, “and thank you all for coming to hear what I have to say. Two days ago, all of you were witness to my...” she searched for the right word, “manifestation, as one reporter referred to it. It was not something I was meant to do. I broke rules among the gods and goddesses of our world in order to do what I felt needed to be done at the time, and there are always consequences to breaking rules. I am no different from anyone else in that regard. We established those rules millennia ago to guard the free will of the people of this world to be able to choose there own paths, right or wrong, and to not use divine might to enforce our will on anyone. This is why we fought against Demise and others like him for so long. As long that power was enabled by me and within me, I became a threat to this, and the temptation will always exist for me to try and set things right when sometimes, people do things that aren't always the best for themselves or other. People need to be left to make their own choices, and to reap the consequences of their own mistakes. This is how we all learn and grow, and we can't do so on our own without them.

 

“I have been disciplined by the goddesses for my actions, and I am now, and will be until the day I die, fully mortal. You will not see me act in that capacity again. But just being made mortal isn't enough. I know I will continue to interfere because I love all of you and want to keep guiding you even when you need to find your own way. With this in mind, I have several announcements. Talon, will you please come stand next to me?” She called for the one handed man behind her.

 

The crowd of reporters gasped at his resemblance to the Hero and the photographs of a long dead historic king. He wore the red robe of a sage, and the emblem of the goddess Hylia.

 

“This is Talon, son of Link, the Hero of Hyrule, and Queen Malon, born two hundred and twenty-five years ago. He has been my Sage for two hundred years, but he was born a prince here, in this very castle.” She remembered the day very well. “Today, in front of all of the United Kingdom of Hyrule, I am restoring his birthright and naming him crown prince and my sole heir.” She told the stunned audience.

 

Talon himself was stunned. She hadn't told him anything about this. “My Lady, I must protest...” He began.

 

“You said you were at my service.” Zelda reminded him. “This is how I choose for you to serve.”She then turned back to the cameras, and continued. “I do so because here in front of you all, I am renouncing my own claim to the throne, and abdicating as the rightful heir. Talon Linkson will take the crown as your rightful sovereign as he was meant to do from birth.”

 

Talon looked horrified at the prospect, but Zelda held his gaze and he submitted to her.

 

Then all of the reporters jumped up protesting, shouting, “No! You can't!” And “No, Princess, don't, we need you!” Another reporter cried out, “Please princess, you are our kingdom's heart! Don't leave us!”

 

Their remarks gave her all the more resolution to continue along her chosen path. “This is why I must step down and allow you to find your paths without me. It was never our intention to rule you forever, only to guide and protect you until you could find your own way. My final announcement,” she continued, “will be my marriage to my one and only love. My Hero, Link, with whom I have already shared eons together.” She gestured to the more ordinary looking teenager behind her. “After our marriage, we will fade away and no longer be involved with the government of the kingdom or its military. You will need to find your own wisdom, power, and courage without us. This is all I have to say. I will not be taking any questions.” She said, and then she, Link and Talon quickly turned around and returned to the safety of the palace.

 

After they had gone through the gates, Link turned to her, holding her around her waist and said, “You did well. Just as we discussed.”

 

“You discussed this?” Talon asked in disbelief. “You knew?”

 

“Of course I knew.” Link responded. “I encouraged it. It's time we lived our own lives again, as much as we can with the time we've got. And, it's time your life was given back to you, as much as we could do for you.”

 

* * *

 

“Man, people are going to be upset at that.” Bill observed, watching the press conference from a television in the castle apartment he shared with Daniel and Rodney.

 

“Well, looks like Hyrule's going to need to get along without them sooner or later.” Rodney said.

 

“I was talking about all the _Legend of Zelda_ fans on Earth. What's Nintendo going to do without Link and Zelda?” Bill said, feeling a bit depressed himself.

 

Daniel and Rodney both raised their eyebrows at the scientist, Daniel mouthing, “Oh...kay...”

 

“Wow.” Rodney added.

 

“No, I'm serious,” Bill went on, “Zelda's a big inspiration to people back on Earth. Imagine what it's going to mean to people here. That one lady was right, Zelda is the heart of this kingdom. From what I've heard from everyone since I got here, she and her father have been a moral compass, and that's not counting the religion built up around her. It's like telling the world that their god's going to retire and they're on their own now.”

 

“I suppose that would make things a bit touchy for a while, wouldn't it?” Rodney said.

 

“Yes, it certainly would.” Daniel agreed. “To every action there is a consequence, and this is one of the big consequences of the Ancients letting people believe that they are all powerful gods. Either they continue the masquerade forever, making the people forever dependent on them, or they give them tough love and force them to start making the right choices for themselves.”

 

“So why the religion then?” Bill asked. “Why did they even start it at all?”

 

“They actually didn't,” Daniel replied, “that was out of their control. They tried to keep it all from the general population as much as possible for thousands of years while protecting them at the same time. That's why the Legend of Zelda was known only to the royal family for so long and then kept close to the breast, so to speak. It was Malon who decided to make it public after Zelda and Link died the last time. She couldn't let go and move on. She wanted everyone to know all that they had done for them.”

 

“So Zelda's trying to what? Fix the spiritual mess that was made?” Bill asked.

 

“Something like that.” Daniel said, agreeing. “It's not going to be easy for anyone.”

 

“No, I imagine not.” Bill replied.

Epilogue

 

The stretch of field on Link's property outside of Ordonville was a vibrant green as he sat atop his mare Epona. His young wife Zelda, round with their first in this life rode side saddle next to him as the two horses walked casually back to their stables. Neither were in any hurry to be anywhere. It was the late summer, and it felt a hot, lazy day.

 

The small ranch property lay not far down the road from his uncle Russel's. After the small family wedding in the royal chapel, where Russel stood in a place of honor, resplendent in his full gray dress uniforms and all of his hard won medals displayed proudly, giving away the bride, his foster father had pulled him aside after they had exchanged vows in front of Talon, officiating his last act as the Sage of Time before taking the crown himself.

 

“So, are you coming home after this, or staying in Castleton?” Russel had asked him.

 

“We don't know where to go yet, Uncle Russel.” The question had laid heavily on his mind. “And I don't think living in your attic for the rest of our lives would be the best for us either.” He joked.

 

Russel laughed, “Well, no that's not what I had in mind.” He said. “You know, when your mom died, the house you two were in was left open, but it was still in your mom's name. I spoke with the bank and the realtors years ago, and had them put it in your name, to be held in trust for you when you turned seventeen. It's not a big property, only about eighty acres or so, and the house needs some repair, but it might be enough to get the two of you started. Anyways, it's yours free and clear if you feel like you want to come home. It's also far enough away from the main road that I don't think too many people will come looking for you there.”

 

Link had never been more grateful for the man the goddesses had given to raise him then he was at that moment. When he told Zelda, she agreed immediately. “It's not going to be the palace life by any means, he said, but it's big enough to keep our horses, and maybe add a few more.”

 

“Can we start a flower garden?” She asked.

 

“Of course.” Link said.

 

Talon had ordered a few Royal Family Protection Service Guards to keep uninvited guests off of Link's property, and hadn't given parliament the choice in letting them have a sizable stipend from the royal treasury to live off of, though Link didn't want to depend on that forever. He asked Zelda how she felt about raising goats for market. “As long as we're together, it sounds wonderful.” Had been her response.

 

Their friends from Atlantis had only stayed long enough to ensure that Hyrule would transition peaceably and with stability after Zelda gave up the throne. They had also assisted their new friend Mickey Mouse and a team of Guardsmen to free the self-imprisoned Sages. Finally, General Shepherd stood for Link's best man at their wedding. Out of anyone else present, he had been one of the Hero's oldest, and best friends. Once all these things were done, the four men were returned to their own time and place by Talon, and the Sage of Time in the past, Impa.

 

His majesty, King Mickey, said his goodbyes as well to the couple after their wedding. “I hope we'll see each other again.” He had told them. “And under better circumstances the next time!” And then he too returned to his own kingdom, family, and friends using his keyblade.

 

“Do you know one thing I will miss?” Link asked Zelda as they rode back to their farmhouse together.

 

“What is that?” She asked.

 

“Fencing with my teammates.” He answered. “But I can't really go back, can I?”

 

“No.” She answered. “We all have to move on and grow up at some point, whether we want to or not.” She then asked, “If you could do it all over, knowing what you know now, would you have changed it?” She asked. “Would you have left me to my fate?”

 

He looked into her eyes, and then gestured to her swollen belly and the field and forest and house in the distance. “And give up all of this? This one perfect moment that we have now together? Never. It's time we all moved on, and right here and right now is exactly where I want to be, with you, my love.”

 

And they walked their horses on side by side in the twilight of dusk towards the little run down farmhouse. And they lived, as much as they could, happily ever after.

 

THE END

 


End file.
